Desert Hinterland Survey

Much of the survey work undertaken at Amarna has concentrated on the riverside city, or the desert around the Workmen’s Village and the rock-cut tombs. The area in between these sites had been largely ignored until the early 2000s, in part due to the immense task of locating any features in the featureless desert area with any sense of accuracy.

An ancient roadway runs across the desert at Amarna.

With the advent of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) it was possible to begin the survey of this large area in the early 2000s, with the same accuracy as was achieved on the survey of the riverside city proper (Kemp and Garfi 1993).

The Desert Hinterland Survey was initially undertaken using a Geotronics Geotracer System 2000 L1-RTK differential Global Positioning System (GPS), but subsequently used a Leica System 500 GPS. This equipment received information from satellites orbiting the earth which allowed a fixed position to be recorded. One receiver was set-up as a base station and continually collected data during the survey. Another receiver was part of a staff carried from point to point to take readings. Using the equipment in such a way produced readings with sub-centimetre accuracy, not only for location but also height readings. This systematically survey of the desert area constantly revealed new sites, including Amarna’s non-elite cemeteries, which were subsequently the focus of a major excavation campaign from 2005–22.

The main aims of the survey were to record all visible features within the area to the east of the city, and to produce a topographic model of the area. With both these elements recorded, a detailed analysis of the use of the Amarna landscape can now be conducted.

Complimentary to the topographic survey was the making of an aerial photographic record of selected parts of the site, including those during the course of excavation. This was done by means of a radio-controlled camera slung beneath a helium-filled balloon. The aerial photographic survey was directed by Gwil Owen.

Helen Fenwick

Further reading

Fenwick, H., 2004. Ancient roads and GPS survey: Modelling the Amarna plain. Antiquity 78, 880–5.

Fenwick, H., 2005. Tell el-Amarna, 2005. Desert survey. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 91, 20–1.

Kemp, B.J. and S. Garfi. 1993. A Survey of the Ancient City of El-‘Amarna. Occasional Publications 9. London: Egypt Exploration Society.