The Fayoum Depression, located 80 km southwest of Memphis (see Figure 3.1) in the “lake province” of the ancient Egyptians, was prized by the pharaohs and viewed as a marvel by Greco-Roman travelers. Strabo wrote:
“(This region) contains also this admirable lake that is called the Lake of Moeris and has the
dimensions and color of a sea.”[104] [105]
This region has a long history. It was first developed at the beginning of the IInd millennium BC by the pharaohs of the XIIth Dynasty. It was visited by Herodotus in 460 BC, and redeveloped by the Ptolemite successors of Alexander in the 3rd century BC. Strabo visits the region in 25 BC, at the dawn of the Roman domination during which Fayoum was one of the granaries. Today, the Qaroun lake sits in the depression, 70 m below the normal level of the Nile, with its rather barren shores. The observations of travelers, geologists, and archaeologists regarding the depression are often contradictory. This has lead to divergent interpretations of the developments in this region. But in forming such interpretations one must not forget that the history of the region spans more than fifteen centuries.
