Two pyramids, one thousand tombs and 3000 ancient settlements. That’s what Parcak – an Egyptologist from the University of Alabama in Birmingham – and her team have discovered without even moving from their armchairs. Using infrared satellite imagery, the team has been looking for archeological rests in Tanis, the legendary city Northeast of the Nile delta, which became the capital of Egypt during the 21st dynasty.
And while there’s no Map Room in the real Tanis, the satellite – which takes photos from a 700km orbit – is so accurate that it can clearly create a map with the streets and every building buried in the soil. In fact, it can tell if a tomb has been looted or not, distinguishing objects one meter in diameter and even identify materials under the surface of the desert.
Their discoveries have been shocking, revealing a dimension that nobody imagined and it’s now considered one of the most important sites in Egypt. Dr Parcak believes that this is just the beginning of her work, which has been already confirmed by test excavations in the area:
They’d excavated a 3,000-year-old house that the satellite imagery had shown and the outline of the structure matched the satellite imagery almost perfectly. That was real validation of the technology.
It is indeed impressive. The only thing I don’t like: “We have moved from Indy,” she said. Fine, but can you use a whip and, more importantly, have you found the bloody Ark? That’s what I want to know. [Egypt’s Lost Cities via BBC