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Wadi Tumilat (Old Egyptian Tjeku/Tscheku/Tju/Tschu) refers to the dry river valley (wadi) to the east of the Nile delta. In prehistoric times, it was a distributary of the Nile. It starts from the area of modern Ismaïlia and continues from there to the west. In ancient times, this was a major communication artery for caravan trade between Egypt and points to the east. The Canal of the Pharaohs was built there. A little water still flows along the wadi.〔(Egypt’s Storied Wadi Tumilat ) GeoCurrents website〕 The Arabic name 'Wadi Tumilat' is believed to reflect the existence in the area, in ancient times, of an important temple of god Atum (Old Egyptian ''pr-itm'', 'House of Atum', changed over time into 'Tumilat', as well as into 'Pithom').〔James K. Hoffmeier, (''Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition.'' ) Oxford University Press, 2005 ISBN 0198035403〕 ==Archaeology== Wadi Tumilat has the ruins of several ancient settlements. Late in the New Kingdom period, there was a well fortified site at Tell el-Retabah. But then, in the Saite Dynasty period, the major settlement and fort were moved east to Tell el-Maskhuta, only 12 km to the east.〔Kathryn A. Bard, (''An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt''. ) Blackwell Pub., 2008〕 Necho II (610–595 BC) initiated—but may have never completed—the ambitious project of cutting a navigable canal from the Pelusiac branch of the Nile to the Red Sea. Necho's Canal was the earliest precursor of the Suez Canal, and it went through Wadi Tumilat.〔Redmount, Carol A. "The Wadi Tumilat and the "Canal of the Pharaohs"" ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (April , 1995), pp. 127-135〕 It was in connection with a new activity that Necho founded a new city of ''Per-Temu Tjeku'' which translates as 'The House of Atum of Tjeku' at Tell el-Maskhuta.〔Shaw, Ian; and Nicholson, Paul. The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. The British Museum Press, 1995. p.201〕 Around 1820, Mohammad Ali, the Ottoman Governor of Egypt, brought 500 Syrians to the Wadi and equipped them with animals and labor to construct 1,000 sakias for the cultivation of mulberry trees for silk production. The irrigation system was repaired by cleaning and deepening of existing canals. Labor was provided by forcing peasants to work.〔Cuno, M., Kenneth (1980): The Origins of Private Ownership of Land in Egypt: A Reappraisal. Cambridge University Press, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Nov., 1980), pp.245-275〕〔Owen, E.R.J. (1969): Cotton and the Egyptian Economy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1969〕 Tell Shaqafiya in the Wadi is also associated with the Canal and its operation. The site of Tell el Gebel is mostly of the Roman period. In 1930, a team from the German Institute in Cairo conducted a survey of Wadi Tumilat. Later on, some Hyksos tombs were also discovered in the area at Tell es-Sahaba.〔(''Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt'' ), edited by Kathryn A. Bard. Routledge, 1999 ISBN 0203982835〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wadi Tumilat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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