Mystery of Egyptian pyramid placement solved as researchers discover why they were built in ‘inhospitable desert strip’

THE Egyptian Pyramid’s may have been intended to tower above a lush, green stretch along the river Nile amid the arid western Sahara.

But something happened, and now the Great Pyramid’s poke out of a “a narrow, inhospitable desert strip”.

Roughly 4,700 years after construction on these ancient wonders first began, scientists from Egypt’s Tanta University may have solved this mystery over the the pyramid’s placement.

Soil samples and satellite imagery suggest that the Giza complex – arguably the most famous cluster of pyramids in the region – may have originally been built along a 64km-long-branch of the river Nile.

This branch of the Nile would have stretched the greenery that flourishes beside the primary channel out into the sands.

But it no longer exists.

Scientists believe it has long been buried beneath windblown sand.

The river branch may have even disappeared before the pyramids were even finished being constructed – a feat which took roughly 1,000 years.

“The Egyptian pyramid fields between Giza and Lisht, built over a nearly 1,000-year period starting approximately 4,700 years ago, now sit on the edge of the inhospitable Western Desert, part of the Sahara,” research write.

“Sedimentary evidence suggests that the Nile used to have a much higher discharge, with the river splitting into several branches in places.”

This long-lost river branch, nicknamed Ahramat by researchers, may have been key to transporting the necessary materials to build the pyramids.

Researchers found that many of the pyramids had causeways which ended at the proposed riverbanks of the Ahramat branch.

The team, led by Eman Ghoneim, used geophysical surveys and sediment cores to find river sediments and former channels beneath the lands more modern surface.

They believe a significant drought some 4,200 years ago could be the answer to why this branch of the Nile no longer exists today.

“The discovery may explain why these pyramid fields were concentrated along this particular strip of desert near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, as they would have been easily accessible via the river branch at the time they were built,” researchers explain.

Future research to find more “extinct” Nile branches could help unlock more secrets about Egypt’s ancient history.