Egypt’s Cultural Minister Farouk Hosni announced yesterday that the Austrian mission at Tell el-Daba has located the southern suburban quarters of the ancient city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos, a people who ruled Ancient Egypt during a hundred year period (1664-1569 BC). The excavation team found this area using a combination of magnetometry and resistivity surveys.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the computer-generated images of the city, which is still buried under the ground, show a very detailed layout of ancient Avaris. Several architectural features including houses, temples, streets, cemeteries and palaces can be seen. The team has also been able to make out the arrangement of neighborhoods and living quarters.
“Using such a special scientific survey to locate such a city is the only way to gain a better understanding of such a large area at one time,” Hawass pointed out.
Dr. Irene Forstner-Müller, Director of the mission said that approximately 2.6 square kilometers have been investigated using a combination of geophysical survey and excavation.
She explained that the aim of the magnetometric and resistivity surveys were to define the borders of ancient Avaris. She said in a statement “The aim of the geophysical survey was to identify the size of the ancient city and the mission managed to identify a large number of houses and streets and a port inside the city. The mission also identified one of the Nile river tributaries that passed through the city, as well as two islands.”
The team has succeeded in identifying a collection of houses and a possible harbor area. A series of pits of different sizes are also visible but their function has not yet been determined.
Source: Dr.Hawass
