Nile Delta archaeology

One of the main foci of comparative studies on ancient societies deals with urban dynamics and, in particular, with initial urbanization processes and their concomitance with the transformations that lead to the emergence of state dynamics. Within this context, we will analyze here the evidence about two nuclei that have provided a large amount of information on the characteristics of the population nucleation on the banks of the Nile during the IV millennium BC: Hierakonpolis, in Upper Egypt, and Tell el-Farkha, in the Nile delta. We will address, first, the available evidence for both historical situations, organizing it into four major areas, related to spatial dynamics, forms of functional specialization, social differentiation, and conflict, which allow us to notice the main innovations that characterize these processes. And second, we will propose a reconsideration of the information that relates to a specific problem: the relationship between the concentration of population in urban contexts and the processes of sociopolitical hierarchization that took place within and from the urban centers. In this sense, beyond the multiple differences between the urbanization trajectories of Hierakonpolis and Tell el-Farkha in the long term, the beginnings of these processes in both nuclei have a common characteristic, which is fundamental for further transformations: the creation of a social context whose practices exceeded the limits related to the preexisting logic of social organization.

The evolution of human societies and in general of human history, do not follow a liner trend but rests mainly on mutual interactions amongst different components. The interacted multifactorial issues derive from three concentric circles or dynamical systems, a) the internal (issues derived from within a given society), b) the external (issues derived from interaction with neighbor societies) and c) the environmental (issues related to the context and other environmental phenomena). Thus, cultures experience cycles of birth, life, decline and death, often supplanted by a potent new culture, formed around a compelling new cultural symbol. In the 4th millennium BC, at around the same time, communities in the valleys of a few large river of Asia and Africa, widely separated from each other, took to growing

This study aims to trace changes in the River Nile flows over the Late Quaternary and is based on palynomorphs which were embedded in the sea floor of the Levantine Basin. The palynomorphs were extracted from two marine sediment cores, which cover the last 86 ka and are located at the two ends of the Levantine Basin: MD-9509, at the southern part of the Levantine Basin, and MD-9501, at its northern part. Core MD-9509 was taken from the Nile cone and is characterized by high sedimentation rates and a good state of palynomorph preservation. The assemblages included palynomorphs which were transported via the Nile headwaters and therefore enabled the reconstruction of the River Nile flows. The results demonstrate that the last glacial period (~75e16 ka) was characterized by a decrease in Nile water discharge and an increase in sediment influx, while opposite trends were observed prior to the last glacial period as well as during the deglaciation and the Holocene. Based on the study of the spores, it is suggested that during the last glacial, the main contributors of freshwater and sediment load to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea were the Blue Nile and the Atbara and only during interglacials was there a more significant contribution of the White Nile. Within the northern core, MD-9501, pollen was preserved only during the formation of sapropels S3 and S1. The comparison of the sapropelic palynological spectra in both core sites clearly indicates that during sapropel deposition, climate conditions were more humid in the Northern Levant, reflecting the north-south regional Mediterranean climatic moisture gradient. Sapropel formation was a result of the intensification of the monsoonal climate system which was most probably related to the maximum insolation values at 65 N, while, currently, the Atlantic is the main influencing climate system in the region. One of the most interesting observations in this study is that during Heinrich Events H2-H6, which originated in the north Atlantic and were identified in MD-9509 based on minimum arboreal pollen percentages, pollen originating from tropical regions was not embedded in the Levantine Basin. These results lend support to the view that episodes of dryness in tropical/sub-tropical Eastern Africa were associated not only with low-latitude climate controls, but also with high-latitude glacial stress.

In seinen Magika Hieratika 1 hat Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert die editio princeps eines magischen Spruches zur Beschwörung der sieben X#y.ty-Dämonen der Sachmet vorgelegt. Hieran anknüpfend sei dieser Beitrag dem Jubilar in Freundschaft gewidmet.

From Magnetometry to Excavation: The Latest Results from Qantir-Piramesse

Qantir-Piramesse, capital of Ramesside Egypt, can be considered one of the largest archaeological sites of the New Kingdom in Egypt. In addition to previous archaeological work, between 1996 and 2012 large scale magnetic measurements were carried out at the site providing an impression of almost the complete layout of the capital of Ramesside Egypt of which nothing is visible on the surface today. As a result of the magnetic survey, an area was chosen for excavation based on the questions of threat (by encroachment and intensive agriculture) and research interest. In 2015 a large building complex, interpreted as a temple and/or palace, was chosen as it is located adjacent to the modern village and represents the first example of monumental architecture ever excavated at Qantir-Piramesse.
During two seasons of fieldwork in 2016 and 2017 excavations were carried out within this area and gave an insight into a building of a truly monumental scale at Piramesse, producing many unexpected features and finds such as colourfully painted plaster, burnt mudbricks and a mortar pit preserving the imprints of feet from 3,200 years ago.

This talk will present the recent results and some preliminary interpretations regarding the dating and function of this building which must have had an important role in Ramesside Piramesse.

An interdisciplinary study that draws together geography, historical navigation data, and eyewitness accounts into a comprehensive picture of one of the world’s great rivers.

This ground-breaking view of the navigational landscape of the Nile in medieval Egypt draws on a broad range of sources: medieval Arabic geographies; traveler accounts; archaeology; and meteorological, hydrological, and geological studies. John Cooper first charts the changing geography of the Nile waterways, particularly in the Delta, from the eve of Islam to the early modern period, and logs the “rise and fall” of these waterways for natural and/or anthropogenic reasons. He then presents a new perspective on the Nile, drawing on traveler accounts and environmental data to portray the river as a uniquely challenging and sometimes dangerous navigational environment requiring extensive local knowledge by skilled and hard-working Nile navigators. Finally, he looks at how the main Delta and Red Sea ports of medieval Egypt fitted into the navigational landscape described, explaining how these ports were affected by changes occurring to the navigational landscape, and how they reflected the navigational conditions of the Nile and surrounding seas.

Perhaps one of the more intriguing and enigmatic characters in the OT is Nimrod, though his name appears only 4 times throughout the entire Bible. Opinions about Nimrod's identity, which have abounded since ancient times, include Ninurta, Amenhotep III, and Gilgamesh. This paper demonstrates, however, that exegetical, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence combine to prove conclusively that Sargon of Akkad is the one and only ancient historical character who fits all of the biographical requirements of biblical Nimrod.

Egipto. Su sola mención evoca misterios, leyendas, gestas y grandeza. La tierra del Nilo ha fascinado a la humanidad durante milenios. Acontecimientos como la Guerra de Troya, el nacimiento de Roma o las hazañas de Alejandro Magno forman parte de la Historia Antigua aunque, incluso en aquellos remotos tiempos, los orígenes de la cultura egipcia quedaban tan lejanos que ya nadie los recordaba. Se habían perdido más allá de la memoria. Durante cientos de años, la humanidad se olvidó de la civilización egipcia, nadie quedaba ya capaz de desentrañar los secretos de la escritura jeroglífica. Sin embargo,en los últimos dos siglos la atracción por las Dos Tierras resurgió en la imaginación del mundo contemporáneo con una fuerza inusitada. Las grandes pirámides, la creencia en el Más Allá a través de dioses semejantes por igual en su aspecto a humanos y animales, lujosas tumbas que albergaban tesoros incalculables y cuerpos momificados de personajes olvidados, tierra de poderosos reyes y faraones que lucharon contra un medio hostil y derrotaron a sus enemigos.
Aquellos tiempos quedaron sepultados por las arenas del desierto, unas arenas que solo se permiten dejar escapar una mínima parte de su presa, mientras ocultan el resto de la curiosidad humana. Muchos de sus secretos siguen allí, preservados por un clima que favorece su conservación durante milenios, esperando el momento de resurgir. Los albores de la Historia egipcia siempre han permanecido esquivos tras un velo de oscuridad, envueltos en mitos sobre épocas casi tan antiguas como la propia humanidad donde dioses y humanos convivían. Desde los comienzos del siglo XIX aficionados y arqueólogos mezclaron ilusión, tesón, esfuerzo y suerte a partes iguales para tratar de averiguar cómo empezó todo. Viajeros de todo el mundo recorrieron sus desolados desiertos tratando de arrancarle a la arena la respuesta a sus enigmas mejor guardados pero, aun así, aun hoy, apenas podemos asomarnos a tan inmemorial época.
Durante mucho tiempo se creyó que el Egipto faraónico comenzaba con las antiguas mastabas, las grandes pirámides de Guiza, la tumba escalonada de Zoser o las innovaciones del arquitecto Imhotep. Nada más lejos de la realidad. Antes de las pirámides, antes de que los egipcios comenzaran a esculpir la piedra, antes de los primeros faraones existió una época en la que todo comenzó. Una época donde se fundaron ciudades como Abydos, Buto, Hieracómpolis o Naqada. Una época en la que los seres humanos comenzaron su eterna relación con el Nilo. Una época donde los primeros reyes aparecieron, alcanzaron su posición por encima del resto, rivalizaron en la creación de la escritura con los sumerios, domaron las aguas de la vida, lucharon… y vencieron.
Fue en esa época llena de misterios y leyendas, donde una figura ha escapado a la niebla del olvido agitando nuestra imaginación por encima de las demás. Esa figura es el rey Escorpión. Los seres humanos tendemos a dejarnos llevar por lo desconocido, a disfrutar con historias de tiempos remotos y hazañas sin igual, necesitamos disfrutar de esos relatos y, si las sombras ocultan más hechos que los que una tenue luz nos revela, los llenamos con fantasías y sueños que terminan mezclándose con la realidad hasta apenas reconocer la verdadera historia. Aún hoy, estamos lejos de descubrir la historia del rey Escorpión, lejos de desentrañar su vida, logros y aventuras. Las arenas del desierto apenas han querido desprenderse de las pistas que atesora desde hace más de 5.000 años como si de uno de sus más queridos hijos se tratara. No sabemos con certeza donde nació o murió, dónde fue enterrado, cuáles fueron las hazañas que protagonizó ni cómo llegó al trono. Ni siquiera sabemos si existió más de un “rey Escorpión”. La suma de los descubrimientos arqueológicos, unida a los escasos datos que se conservan en las fuentes clásicas apenas han permitido conocer algunas pistas extrañas y dispersas que forman parte de un puzle del que solo tenemos unas pocas piezas que aún no sabemos colocar con seguridad. Pareciera que esta figura no quisiera despertar de su sueño, que quisiera permanecer entre las leyendas para seguir despertando la imaginación del mundo cinco mil años después de su muerte.
En esta obra trataremos de mostrar algunos de esos secretos que envolvieron su vida, de mostrar esas “piezas” descubiertas a lo largo de dos siglos para intentar acercarnos a su vida. Veremos cómo se originó el Egipto anterior a los faraones, cómo el Nilo dio vida a una de las más grandes civilizaciones de la Historia, cómo los primeros reyes sentaron las bases que hicieron todo ello posible. Trataremos, sobre todo, de esa figura que vive entre el mito y la realidad, el rey Escorpión. Un hombre que pudo haber gobernado Egipto, cuyos misterios alentaron la creación de largometrajes, el impulsor de la creación de la escritura y que, aun hoy, sigue fascinandonos como parte de una época casi desconocida. Una época que acumulaba más de tres milenios de historia ya en el momento en que su última reina, Cleopatra VII, vivió y murió.
Como si de una tarea detectivesca se tratara, las pistas y pruebas serán expuestas de la manera más objetiva posible. Serán ustedes, quienes tienen esta obra en sus manos, los que viajaran a un Egipto más allá de las pirámides, conocerán el inicio de esta gran civilización en una época ya olvidada entre los micénicos, los troyanos, los griegos clásicos o los romanos republicanos, quienes deban extraer sus propias conclusiones. Serán quienes podrán entender más allá del misterio o seguir creyendo en él.
¿Cómo empezó todo?

This project presents a stratified archaeological sequence spanning the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom at Tell er-Rub’a, Mendes, in the eastern Egyptian Delta. This sequence, excavated between 1999 and 2005, has provided the longest stratified sequence from these periods in all of Egypt. Stratigraphic probes around the site indicate that further excavation of the sequence will go as far back as the 5th millennium BCE. This thesis presents the stratigraphic and ceramic data from this excavation and places the sequence within the historical and cultural developmental framework of the 3rd
millennium.

The interpretive aspect of this sequence is viewed through the lens of Robert J. Wenke’s “First Dynastic Cycle”. The adoption of an agricultural subsistence strategy, around 4000 BCE, is the first spark of a trajectory toward the great nation-state of the Old Kingdom which achieved its apex of power and stability the 5th Dynasty and collapsed suddenly at the end of the 6th Dynasty around 2200 BCE. This “single epoch of transformation” is a broad approach to the normally narrow focus of studying the rise and collapse of the state in Egypt. The entire development from nascent agricultural society to the collapse of the first state in the late Old Kingdom is an evolutionary process which must be assessed holistically. Thus ‘state formation’ is perhaps best seen, not merely in the final centuries of the 4th millennium, but as a lengthy process, spanning some two millennia, during which the first iteration of the Egyptian state is actualized. Because of the stratified sequence presented in this project, Mendes provides a unique opportunity to excavate in one place the entire First Dynastic Cycle: the rise of agriculture and complex society, prehistoric period of Egypt, the formation of the state, the first 400 years of experimentation in statehood, the apex of the first successful nation state in the world, and the last hurrah before its sad decline. This archaeological sequence, therefore, will be the first to stratigraphically, and consequently ceramicly, unify prehistoric Egypt to its successor, the great state of the Old Kingdom.

The Austrian archaeological team led by Manfred Bietak that excavated the palatial district at Avaris (Tell el-Dab‘a) has produced some significant results for illuminating Lower Egypt’s history of the 2nd millennium BC. While Bietak’s subsequent publications related to the New Kingdom primarily have focused on the exquisite Minoan wall paintings and the site’s association with Peru-nefer, much less attention has centered on the timing of the mid-18th-Dynasty abandonment that Bietak says occurred “after Amenhotep II,” and was followed by an occupational gap. Did the abandonment occur during the reign of Amenhotep II, at the end of his reign, or during the reign of Thutmose IV? The present work seeks to bring together all of the relevant data—from the archaeological evidence at the site, the epigraphical record, and corroborative evidence from Theban tomb paintings—in an attempt to determine more precisely the timing of the site's mid-18th-Dynasty abandonment.

This article presents two unpublished canopic jars of the Ramesside vizier Iuty kept in the Civico Museo Archeologico, Sezione Egizia, in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan. All other currently known elements of the prosopographical dossier of this rather enigmatic functionary are compiled and discussed. The evidence not only allows the identification of the archaeological provenance of the two canopic jars from tomb no. 1130 in the New Kingdom elite cemetery of Bubastis (Tell Basta) in the Eastern Nile Delta. It also serves as a starting point to assess the available data about this vizier in terms of his tomb, burial equipment and date in more detail. Regarding the latter, a position in the 19th Dynasty is argued for, based mainly on the typology of the vizier’s funerary equipment, including the canopic jars, several shabtis, a model scribal palette and a heart-amulet.

Report on the later seasons of the British Museum excavations at Tell el-Balamun, with results of work on the temples of Psamtik I and Nekhtnebef. Also an anonymous temple of the Thrd Intermediate Period and a Saite chapel
- for more on the latter, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM0FrIFBwjE

Plus details of magnetic mapping by Thomas Herbich.

خلال العصور التاريخية المختلفة، مر نهر النيل بالعديد من المراحل والتقلبات التي أثرت على الحياة الاجتماعية والسياسية والتاريخية في مصر، حيث كان لتطور فروع النيل الأثر الواضح في اختيار مواقع المدن والقرى والتجمعات السكنية بمنطقة دلتا النيل، كما أثر ذلك سلباً في تغيير مواقع بعض المدن والعواصم تبعا لتطور وتغير أفرع النيل عبر العصور. هذا بالإضافة إلى الدور الذي لعبه تطور ساحل البحر المتوسط فى تغير شكل الدلتا وأفرع النيل وأيضاً ظهور مدن جديدة واندثار مدن أخرى.

In the early 2nd millennium BCE, Near Eastern groups of diverse origin penetrated the Nile Delta, via sea and land. The Wadi Tumilat was one of the two principal overland routes in and out of Egypt for Asiatics arriving from the East. Unlike the Western Asiatics from the harbour town of Tell el-Dab‘a who predominantly migrated from the northern Levantine coast, Asiatics who arrived overland into the Wadi Tumilat (from the desert areas beyond Egypt’s eastern border), belonged to a different backdrop and different socio-economic networks. The issue of identifying the geographical affiliations of these groups remains complicated. Nonetheless, micro-regional specificities in the material culture of the Wadi Tumilat, and distinctive traits in funerary practices, daily-life equipment and, more generally, lifestyle, allow the tracing (albeit preliminarily) of connections to specific sub-regions and socio-economic networks in the Levant. At least one or more substantial elements amongst the Asiatic components which entered the wadi from the East, and contributed to the establishment of Asiatic communities during the 15th Dynasty (following the Hyksos takeover and renewed commercial interests in caravan operations to the Southern Levant), may denote cultural and social ties with the southernmost part of Canaan. This adds more evidence to the multifaceted picture being created of the Asiatic groups and subgroups which infiltrated the Egyptian Delta in the early 2nd Millennium BCE and eventually led to the rise of Hyksos rule.

Fieldwork was carried out every year for about one month, in 2014-16 in spring and in 2018 in autumn. The main aim of all campaigns was to excavate deepest layers at the Western and Central Koms, and investigate the settlement and further graves discovered at the Eastern Kom. The excavations at the Western Kom focused on remains of a brewery (W272), discovered in 2012 and partially explored in 2013. The brewery had at least three distinct phases of use: the earliest one in the Naqada IID period, a very badly preserved middle phase in the fi rst half of Naqada IIIA1, and the latest phase connected with Tell el-Farkha Phase 4 (Naqada IIIA1/2-IIIB). At the Central Kom, exploration of a big rounded construction excavated since 2012 was fi nished. Since the same year a monumental rectangular building has been excavated, which most likely served as a central storage facility. Two phases of the building-early Naqada IIIA1 (Tell el-Farkha Phase 3) and Naqada IIIA1-IIIA2 (Phase 4)-were distinguished. The storage was connected with a big Naqada building at the Western Kom, which was still in use during the earliest stages of existence of the administrative-cultic center. Below the foundations of this building, remains of a "Lower Egyptian Residence" (partially excavated in 2007-09) were unearthed. Its complicated plan and objects found inside confi rm a special status of the inhabitants of the Residence. 29 burials were discovered at the Eastern Kom. They are clearly divided into a few Protodynastic tombs and a larger group of later burials from the Early Dynastic period. The most interesting grave no. 130, representing a small mastaba type, was composed of a mud brick superstructure (ca. 3.7×3 m) and a quite deep single burial chamber. The superstructure would have been fairly well preserved if a later grave no. 126 had not cut its upper part. Some other Early Dynastic graves were dug in the ruins of a big edifi ce that had been erected during the second half of the Naqada IIIB period at the eastern edge of the Proto-dynastic cemetery and was connected in some way with the cult of the dead.

ABSTRACT: This special lecture is actually designed both to aid students (of Anth.106: Introduction to Archaeology) in (a) mastering approaches to and the interpretation of different aspects of the past, and (b) summarizing --within a 12-topic structure-- the results of my earlier work at Tell Tebilla (NE Delta, Egypt). The lecture begins with (1) early Searchers, (2). The evidence (brief), (3) Recent Searchers, (4) Dating, (5) Social Organization, and (6) Past Environment, and focuses a little more on (7) Diet and subsistence, (8) Technology, (9) Trade and Exchange, (10) Cognitive archaeology (religion; mortuary archaeology, etc.), (11) Appearance (mostly bioarchaeology), and (12) Change and explanations of change. Hence, the ppt. lecture uses both materials, data, and illustrations that are Tebilla specific and materials drawn from the textbook and other sources to aid in studying the 12 main aspects in the course, particularly topics 7-12 for test no.2.  UPDATED: May 2021  --adding in some new text, re-formatting, etc.

تمثل الحمامات وثقافة الاستحمام أحد الجوانب الحضارية المهمة فى حياة المجتمعات القديمة خاصة فى الحضارات اليونانية والرومانية؛ فقد شغل الاستحمام قسمًا مهمًا من النشاط اليومى للسكان. كما أعتبر الاستحمام معيارًا للتحضرِ ونموذجًا للتواصل الاجتماعى، ليس ذلك فحسب؛ وإنما أيضًا وسيلة لنشر الحضارة، والسيطرة الثقافية فقد صاحب أغرقة(Hellenization)  الشرق نشر الحمامات اليونانية وانعكست سياسة الرومنة  (Romanization) فى التحول للاستحمام الرومانى.
تتناول هذه الدراسة الحمامات اليونانية والرومانية فى غرب الدلتا فى مصر خلال الفترة من بداية الحقبة الهللينستية حتى نهاية حكم الأمبرطور دقليديانوس، وذلك من خلال مقدمة وأربعة فصول تحتوى مجتمعة عشرة مباحث بالإضافة إلى خاتمة.
تتناول المقدمة أهمية الموضوع، والحدود التاريخية لفترة الدراسة، والحدود الجغرافية للمنطقة، كما تناولت الدراسات السابقة فى مجال البحث وأوجه القصور فيها التى دفعت الباحث لأختيار الموضوع لرسالة الماجستير، كما تضمنت أهداف الدراسة وما واجهه الباحث من صعوبات، وفى النهاية شملت عرضا لمحتويات الدراسة.
الفصل الأول : يهدف للتعريف بثقافة الاستحمام والحمامات فى مصر القديمة وعند اليونان والرومان فى ثلاثة مباحث.
• المبحث الأول عن ثقافة الاستحمام  عند المصرى القديم والكيفية التى كانت تتم بها عملية الاستحمام كما قدم نماذج تتتبع تطور الحمامات الخاصة فى مصر القديمة حيث لم يعثر حتى الآن على حمامات عامة تعود لتلك الفترة وانهى المبحث بالحديث عن نموذج لحمام خاص يقع فى منطقة الدراسة ( حمام كوم الأبقعين).
• المبحث الثانى يلقى الضوء على ثقافة الاستحمام عند اليونان منذ العصر الهوميرى وحتى العصر الهللينستى فى شكل موجز من خلال الاستعراض السريع لمصادر أدبية تحدثت عن الاستحمام والحمامات وكذلك تصوير الاستحمام على الفخار وأخيرًا البقايا المعمارية الدالة على تطور بناء منشأت الاستحمام منذ العصر المينوى وحتى الهللينستى. وأنهِى المبحث بالحديث عن الحمامات اليونانية فى مصر.
• المبحث الثالث من نصيب الرومان حيث تناول هذا المبحث الحديث عن طبيعة الاستحمام والحمامات الرومانية وتميزها عن نظريتها اليونانية ؛ ثم تتبع لتطور ثقافة الاستحمام وبناء الحمامات منذ العصر الجمهورى وحتى العصر الإمبراطورى مع تقديم أمثلة من كل مرحلة لتوضيح طبيعة التطور الحاصل فى بناء الحمامات  وبيان الاختلافات التى حدثت فى ثقافة الاستحمام فى العصر الإمبراطورى عن العصر الجمهورى.  فى حين اختتم هذا المبحث بالحديث عن الحمامات الرومانية فى مصر.
تناول الفصل الثانى الحديث عن الحمامات اليونانية فى غرب الدلتا؛ حيث قسم إلى مبحثين:
• الأول منهما: يتناول الحمامات اليونانية العامة. تم فى هذا المبحث الحديث عن هذه الحمامات بشكل عام وموجز فى التمهيد، ثم تمت دراسة كل حمام على حدة؛ من حيث موقعه وتاريخ الكشف عنه وحالة حفظه وتخطيطه العام وتكوينه المعمارى وأنظمة الإمداد وصرف المياه وكذلك نظام التسخين والتأريخ.  وقد بدأ المبحث بالحديث عن الحمامات ذات الآثار الباقية منتقلًا فيما بعد للحديث عن الحمامات المندثرة. كما تضمن رسوم ثلاثية الأبعاد لعدد من هذه الحمامات اعتمادًا على الصور والرسومات التوضيحية التى نشرها المكتشفون أو الدراسات السابقة بشكل عام وهذا العمل طبق على الحمامات التى تسمح المادة العلمية المتوفرة عنها بذلك  هذا على مستوى الدراسة ككل.
• تناول المبحث الثانى عن الحمامات اليونانية الخاصة والتى تقع فى منطقة غرب الدلتا، وقد تم أتباع نفس الأسلوب كما فى المبحث السابق.
تناول الفصل الثالث من الدراسة الحمامات الرومانية فى غرب الدلتا وقُسِّم على غرار الفصل الثانى إلى مبحثين؛ الأول منهما يتناول الحمامات  العامة والثانى يتناول الحمامات الخاصة و تم البدء فى كل منهما بالحديث عن الحمامات ذات الآثار الباقية ثم الانتقال للحديث عن الحمامات المندثرة كما هو متبع فى الفصل الثانى.
مثل الفصل الرابع دراسة تحليلية مقارنة للمميزات المعمارية المختلفة للحمامات الأعريقية والرومانية فى غرب الدلتا وكذلك تقنيات إدارة المياه سواء فى الإمداد بالمياه وصرفها أو استخدامها داخل الحمامات وكذلك الحال مع انظمة التسخين التى وجدت فى هذه الحمامات. تضمن هذا الفصل فى ماحثه الثلاث الكثير من المقارنات بين ما عثر عليه من بقايا أثرية فى منطقة الدراسة وغيرها من المناطق خاصة داخل مصر. وقد تضمن هذه الفصل كما ذكرنا ثلاثة مباحث هى :
• الخصائص المعمارية للحمامات اليونانية والرومانية بغرب الدلتا: يتناول هذا المبحث تخطيط الحمامات اليونانية والرومانية فى غرب الدلتا، وتقنيات ومواد البناء المستخدمة و أساليب تنفيذ الأرضيات.
• خصائص أنظمة إدارة المياه فى الحمامات اليونانية والرومانية بغرب الدلتا: يتناول هذا المبحث مصادر المياه المتاحة للحمامات اليونانية والرومانية فى غرب الدلتا ومشكلة توفير المياه للحمامات القديمة وطرق حلها، تضمن كذلك قنوات نقل المياه وأنواعها.
• • خصائص أنظمة التسخيين فى الحمامات اليونانية والرومانية بغرب الدلتا: تضمن هذا المبحث تقنيات التسخين المستخدمة فى الحمامات اليونانية والرومانية بمنطقة الدراسة وما تميزت به من خصائص.
يلى ذلك خاتمة تضمنت تلخيصًا لما تضمنته الرسالة من محاور بحثية وما توصلت إليه من نتائج خاصة ما ورد من هذه النتائج فى الفصل الرابع والذى تضمن الكثير من المقارنات والتحليل؛ كما تضمنت تقييمًا لما حققته الرسالة من أهدافها؛ حيث يتضح قيام الباحث بالعديد من الدراسات الميدانية وأعمال التوثيق للحمامات الباقية موضوع الدراسة، كما قام أيضًا بعمل إعادة تصور ثلاثى الأبعاد لعدد من الحمامات الباقية والمندثرة بحسب البيانات المتوفرة، هذا فضلا عن أستخلاص الخصائص المميزة لعمارة الحمامات وأنظمة الإمداد بالمياه وصرفها، وأنظمة التسخين.
تضمنت الدراسة قوائم بالمصادر والمراجع العربية والمعربة والمراجع الأجنبية ومواقع الإنترنت المستخدمة فيها.

The baths and bathing culture is one of the significant aspects of the life in the ancient societies، particularly in the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations since bathing was a vital part of their everyday activities. They considered bathing as a basic standard of civilization. Bathing was a way of socializing and a method of spreading civilization and cultural over control as the Hellenization led to spreading the Greek baths and the Romanization led to spreading the Roman ones. 
This thesis studies the Greek and Roman Baths in the western Nile Delta in Egypt during the Greco-Roman period from the beginning of the Hellenistic era to the end of the reign of Diocletian in 311 A.D. The study is divided into four chapters, which are also divided into ten sections as follow:
The first chapter: “Bathing and Baths in Three Civilizations”, is divided into three sections; it introduces the baths and bathing culture in the Egyptian، Greek، and Roman civilizations.
•The first section of this part tells about the bathing and baths in ancient Egypt with some examples from deferent periods and areas، the last example is from the western Nile delta(in Kom el-Abqaan).
•The second section is a survey of the Greek bathing culture and the baths in deferent textual and archaeological resources from the Minoan civilization to the Hellenistic period. At the end of the section there is a short evaluation of the Greek baths in Egypt.
•The third section deals with the Roman baths and bathing culture and the differences between the Greek baths and the Roman ones. After that there is (or you can remove there is and use follows) an evaluation of the development of the Roman baths from the republic period to the Diocletian rule. At the end of this section there is an evaluation of the Roman baths in Egypt.
The second chapter: “The Greek Baths in the Western Nile Delta”, studies the physical remains (or ruins) of the Greek baths in the western Nile Delta، it is divided into two sections.
•The first section discusses public baths; it has a general evaluation of the Greek public baths in the study area. It also contains a detailed study of every public bath showing the location، the date of discovery، the general plan، the architectural elements، the water management system، the heating system، the datation، and the reconstruction of the bath whenever possible.
•The second section of this part studies the private  Greek baths in the same method used in the previous section.
The third chapter: “The Roman baths in the western Nile Delta”, it is the same method of study and organization of the second chapter; it is divided into two sections.
•The first deals with the public Roman baths in the western Nile Delta.
•The second deals with the private Roman baths in the western Nile Delta.
The fourth chapter: “An Analytical Study of the Architectural and Technical Characteristics of the Greek and Roman in the Western Nile Delta”, is a detailed study of the features of the Greek and Roman baths in the study area and a comparative study enhanced by examples from other areas.
This part is divided into three sections:
•The architectural features of the Greek and Roman baths in the western Nile Delta.
•The water management systems in the Greek and Roman Baths in the western Nile Delta.
•The heating systems in the Greek and Roman baths in the western Nile Delta.
Each of these sections illustrates the general frame of the point in the Greek and the Roman civilization followed by discussing this aspect in the Greek and Roman baths in the western Nile Delta.
At the end of the study there is a conclusion of the thesis and the results of the study.

During the First Intermediate Period the Nile Delta was not under the direct control of a central power. For the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, however, the archaeological and textual records show evidence of keen royal interest in the administration and utilization of the rich resources of the region, and its integration into the greater territory of the new state. As well as undergoing a reorganization of its nomes and districts, the Delta became the focus for the construction of new settlement and temples, controlled by officials from the central residence. The intensity of the involvement of the residence in areas of the Delta usually labelled as "provincial" is unparalleled for earlier periods of Egyptian history. As a result, it is not clear if the Nile Delta or parts of it should be defined as "provinces" or on the "periphery", or if it was rather seen as a territory under the direct control and influence of the residence, regardless of the physical distance between the locations.