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Title: The topography and geology of the Fayum province of Egypt
Author: H. J. L. Beadnell
Release date: December 3, 2024 [eBook #74831]
Language: English
Original publication: Cairo: National Printing Department
Credits: Galo Flordelis (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Smithsonian Institution Libraries)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE FAYUM PROVINCE OF EGYPT ***
[Illustration: PLATE I.
NORTH SIDE OF THE BIRKET EL QURUN, LOOKING WEST.]
SURVEY DEPARTMENT,
EGYPT.
* * * * *
THE TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
OF THE
FAYUM PROVINCE
OF EGYPT
BY
H. J. L. BEADNELL, F.G.S., F.R.G.S.
[Decoration]
CAIRO
NATIONAL PRINTING DEPARTMENT
1905.
CONTENTS.
* * * * *
INTRODUCTION.
PAGES.
Surveying operations. Soil survey. History of discovery of
Fayûm vertebrate fauna 9
PART I.—TOPOGRAPHY AND STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY.
SECTION I.—CULTIVATED LAND—
Area. Composition and character of alluvial soil. Connection
with Nile Valley. Bahr Yusef and canal system. Ravines.
Alluvial deposits of Lake Moeris and prehistoric lake.
Increase of cultivated lands 11
SECTION II.—THE BIRKET EL QURUN—
Site, depth and dimensions. Remnant of Lake Moeris. Continual
shrinkage of lake. Deposition of sand in lake at present day.
Salinity of lake. Possible underground outlets. Currents 12
SECTION III.—THE SURROUNDING DESERT REGION—
Area and limits of Libyan Desert described. Rocks forming the
area. Importance of dip. Chief causes of origin of Fayûm 14
SECTION IV.—WADI RAYAN AND NEIGHBOURHOOD—
Colonel Western’s survey. Sir William Willcocks’ report.
Borings. Details of proposed reservoir. Schweinfurth’s
estimate of salt content. Willcocks’ “Assuan Reservoir and
Lake Moeris.” Detailed geological examination not yet
undertaken. Traverse from Nile Valley through Wadi Muêla and
Rayan to Gharaq. Warshat el Melh and springs of Wadi Muêla.
Der el Galamûn. Pass from Muêla to Rayan. Sand accumulations.
Wadi Korif. Springs of Wadi Rayan. Analyses and output of
water. Geological succession in Wadi Rayan. General geology of
floor and bounding walls. Ridge separating Rayan and Gharaq.
Apparent absence of Nile deposit and freshwater shells in Wadi
Rayan. Question of leakage through ridge. Permeability of Rayan
if used as a reservoir. Salinity of water 16
SECTION V.—CENTRAL AREA OF THE REGION—
Area and features. Dip-slope of surface. Drainage basins of
central plain. Pools formed by rainfall. Tamarisk growth. The
eastern area covered by alluvium. The bounding plateau to the
north. Ghart el Khanashat dunes 24
SECTION VI.—THE RIDGE SEPARATING THE NILE VALLEY AND FAYUM—
Width and highest points. Strata forming ridge. Gravel
terraces. Low points of ridge. Original access of Nile waters
to depression. Formation of lake and deposition of sediment
in Fayûm 25
SECTION VII.—THE NORTHERN DESERT REGION—
Escarpments and plateaux. Extreme west and south-west limits
of area. Ferruginous silicified puddingstone of ancient rivers.
Jebel el Qatrani. Widan el Faras. Elwat Hialla. Garat el Gindi.
Garat el Faras 26
PART II.—TECTONICS.
SECTION VIII.—FAULTING AND FOLDING—
Origin of depression. Evidence in drainage ravines El Bats and
El Wadi. Deep boring at Medinet el Fayûm. Dr. Blanckenhorn’s
theory that depression owes its origin to extensive fault
system. Fault theory disproved. Fault N.N.E. of Qasr el Sagha.
Numerous local strike faults of small throw. Occasional
influence of fractures in determining escarpments 29
PART III.—GEOLOGY.
SECTION IX.—GENERAL AND CLASSIFICATION OF STRATA—
Depression cut out in sedimentary rocks. Local lava flows.
Dip. Oldest beds the Nummulites gizehensis limestones of
Middle Eocene. Fluviomarine series of Upper Eocene and
Oligocene age. Absence of Miocene strata. Pliocene,
Pleistocene and Recent. Table showing succession and
classification of strata 33
SECTION X.—MIDDLE EOCENE—
A.—_Wadi Rayan Series._—Work of Schweinfurth and Mayer-Eymar.
Section at entrance to Wadi Muêla on Nile Valley side. Strata
of cliffs near Der el Galamûn. Detailed section measured at
Jebel Rayan. Mayer Eymar’s section in Wadi Muêla 35
B.—_Ravine Beds._—In ravines of El Bats and El Wadi. Relation
to underlying series seen at Gar el Gehannem. Section at Gar
el Gehannem. Fauna of strata. In ravines unconformably
overlain by Pleistocene, etc. Form plain bordering cultivation
on east side. Extension into Nile Valley. Occurrence at Sersena
and Tamia. Forming base of Geziret el Qorn and lower part of
northern escarpment of Birket el Qurûn. West end of lake. Hard
siliceous bands give rise to horns or promontories of lake.
Ravine Beds in the Medinet el Fayûm boring. Thickness 37
C.—_Birket el Qurun Series._—Homotaxial with quarried
limestones of Cairo. Foraminiferal beds. Extension of series.
Section at Ezba Qalamsha. Section north of Lahûn pyramid. East
of Sersena and north-east of Rubiyat. Section 17 kilometres
28° N. of E. of Tamia. Series characterized by large globular
concretions. Development and fauna in Geziret el Qorn.
Zeuglodon remains. Profile at Geziret el Qorn. Rich molluscan
fauna. Section on mainland opposite Geziret el Qorn. Section at
west end of Birket el Qurûn. Formation of earth-pillars.
Extension west of the lake. Development of the series in the
Zeuglodon Valley. Abundance of skeletons of whales. Molluscan
fauna. Pseudomorphs in celestine. Hill mass south of the
Zeuglodon Valley. Junction of Birket el Qurûn series with
overlying stage 41
D.—_Qasr el Sagha Series._—Equivalent of the Upper Mokattam
of Cairo. Greater development in Fayûm. Vertebrate fauna of
series. Schweinfurth’s original discovery of cetacean remains.
Recent discovery of land and marine mammals. Extension of
series generally. N.N.E. of Tamia. At Garat el Faras. In the
cliffs north of the Birket el Qurûn. Detailed section near
ruin of Qasr el Sagha. At Gar el Gehannem and westwards. Land
animals floated out from land by river currents. The series a
littoral deposit. Lignitic beds and thin seams of coal 49
SECTION XI.—UPPER EOCENE — LOWER OLIGOCENE—
E.—_Fluvio-marine Series._—Nature of sediments, Interbedded
basalts in upper part. Character of its invertebrate fauna.
Conditions of deposition of series. Continuance of similar
conditions to Miocene and even Pliocene times. Bone-beds at
base of series. Association of skeletons of animals and forest
trees. Preservation of remains. Analysis of fossil bones.
Relation of Fluvio-marine series to underlying stage.
Characteristics of the group. Its development in the field.
Its slight development at Elwat Hialla. Section near Elwat
Hialla. Constant northerly dip. Organic (molluscan) remains 9
and 14 kilometres north of Qasr el Sagha. Detailed section
from near Qasr el Sagha to Widan el Faras. Determinations of
mollusca from the series. Tripartite character of the series
west of Widan el Faras and Qasr el Sagha. Occurrence of
calcite, gypsum and chalcedony. Tabular chert and flint.
Ancient workings. Extent of basalt. Silicified trees 53
F.—_Age of the Fluvio-Marine Series._—Difficulty in the
determination of age owing to paucity of fossils. Zittel’s
tabulation of “Schichten von Birket el Qurûn” as Oligocene.
Mayer-Eymar’s age determinations. Schweinfurth’s comparison
of the series with the Scutella beds of Der el Beda near
Cairo. Blanckenhorn’s determinations. The stratigraphical
position of the series and relationship to Qasr el Sagha
series. Stratigraphically lower than the Lower Miocene of
Mogara. Whole complex in all probability of Upper Eocene and
Oligocene age, the transition being at or near the basalt
sheets 63
G.—_The Position of the Land Mass from which the Mammals
were derived._—Proximity of continental land. Absence of
branches on fossil trees. Massif of Abu Roash perhaps an
island to the north. Extension of Eocene sea. Continual
retreat of the sea northwards. Rivers emerging from the land.
Number and positions of such rivers doubtful. Evidence for
river passing from the modern oasis of Baharia through Gar el
Hamra to the Fayûm. Lacustrine and fluviatile deposits along
the course. Huxley’s theory of immigration and invasion of
animals into Africa. Fayûm animals belong to an extinct African
fauna of Tertiary times. Contains the earliest and most
primitive forms of elephants and other groups. Emigration and
immigration. Prof. Osborn’s theory of the African continent as
a centre of radiation. Confirmation by the Fayûm mammal
discoveries. List of new species obtained from the Fayûm 65
H.—_The Absence of Miocene deposits in the Fayûm._—The Fayûm a
land area in Miocene times. Miocene deposits of Mogara.
Lithological similarity. Probable persistence of geographical
conditions 71
SECTION XII.—PLIOCENE—
J.—_Marine deposits: Middle Pliocene._—Marine deposits of
Sidmant with typical Middle Pliocene mollusca. Relation of
these deposits to the gravel terraces as yet unknown though
important 71
K.—_Borings on Rock Surfaces; of doubtful age._—Apparently
due to marine boring mollusca. No exact evidence as to age.
(α) Low level borings from zero to 20 metres above sea-level.
(β) High level borings at 112 metres above sea-level. Limited
occurrences of borings 71
L.—_Gravel Terraces:? Upper Pliocene._—Well marked terraces
of gravel up to 170-180 metres above sea-level. East of Sêla.
Character of deposit. East of Sersena and Roda. N.N.E. of
Tamia, N.N.E. of Garat el Faras, east and north-east of Garat
el Gindi. Relation to different series. Character of gravels
at Elwat Hialla. West of Elwat Hialla gravel terraces almost
completely removed by denudation. Traces near Widan el Faras
and near Garat el Esh. Height of terraces in latter locality
determined as 170 metres above sea-level. Terrace marks shore
line of great sheet of water, whether freshwater or marine.
The great plains of the Fayûm possibly in part plains of marine
denudation 73
M.—_Gypseous Deposits: probably dating from the close of the
Pliocene._—Extension in Nile Valley and Fayûm. Section at
Medum. On the east side of the Fayûm. Gypsum cemented
conglomerate. Close connection with upper part of gravel
terraces 77
N.—_Summary of Pliocene Period_ 78
SECTION XIII.—PLEISTOCENE—
Earliest existence of a freshwater lake. Probably not a
remnant of the Pliocene sea or lake in which gravel terraces
were formed. Intermediate denudation of area. Date of earliest
entry of Nile waters doubtful. Freshwater lake of Nile Valley.
Drainage down the Nile Valley and establishment of river.
Breaking down of gravel ridge separating the valley and the
Fayûm. Entrance of flood waters. Formation of lake and
deposition of sediment. Subsequent disconnection of Nile Valley
and Fayûm owing to erosion of river bed. Rise of Nile in
prehistoric and historic times. Reconnection. Geological
evidence for the existence of great freshwater Pleistocene
lake. Position and dimensions. Fossil fauna of the lake, and
its difference from all other Egyptian faunas. Blanckenhorn’s
conclusions 79
SECTION XIV.—RECENT 81
O.—_Prehistoric._—Abundance of worked flints. Shores of lake
inhabited by Neolithic and probably prehistoric man. Tamarisk
remains. Probable age of flints anterior to Egyptian historic
period 82
P.—_Historic._—Relations of the Nile Valley river system and
the Fayûm. Lake Moeris a regulator of the Nile floods. Brought
under control in XIIth dynasty. Early references to Lake
Moeris. Its position disputed in modern times. Linant de
Bellefonds’ assertion disproved by Sir Hanbury Brown.
Archæological evidence for the site. Present day fauna of the
Birket el Qurûn. Modern deposits. Blown sand. Erosion 82
APPENDICES 87
1. Previous literature relating to the Fayûm 87
2. Fayûm lamellibranchs mentioned in Oppenheim’s “Zur Kenntnis
alttertiärer Faunen in Ægypten.” 89
INDEX 91
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
* * * * *
PHOTOGRAPHS.
PLATES. PAGE.
I. — North side of the Birket el Qurûn,
looking west _Frontispiece._
II. — Bahr Yusef at Lahûn before entering
the Fayûm _to face_ 11
III. — El Wadi, Ravine near Qasr Gebali „ 19
IV. — Western extremity of the Birket el Qurûn „ 29
V. — Alluvial deposits overlying marly
limestones (Ravine Beds) in El Wadi,
Ravine near Qasr Gebali „ 37
VI. — Escarpment of the Birket el Qurûn series
near the western end of the lake „ 41
VII. — Weathered concretionary sandstone
(Birket el Qurûn series) on north shore,
near Geziret el Qorn „ 45
VIII. — Middle Eocene escarpment (Qasr el Sagha
series) 12 kilometres west of Qasr el
Sagha „ 49
IX. — Upper beds of Fluvio-marine series with
basalt cap, looking west from the
eastern extremity of Jebel el Qatrani „ 53
X. — El Qatrani range from the south-east „ 57
XI. — Silicified trees of Fluvio-marine
series, 4½ kilometres north of Qasr el
Sagha „ 63
XII. — Raised Beach unconformably overlying
Middle Eocene limestones (Birket el
Qurûn series) in the desert east of
Sersena „ 69
XIII. — Borings in false-bedded sandstone, 2
kilometres south of Dimê „ 73
XIV. — Pleistocene lacustrine clays with
tamarisk stumps _in situ_ at 50 metres
above the present surface of the Birket
el Qurûn „ 77
XV. — Isolated sand-dune near Gar el Gehannem „ 81
XVI. — The Birket el Qurûn near the western end „ 85
PLANS.
XVII. — General Map of the Fayûm depression, with Wadi Rayan
and Wadi Muêla, 1/250000 end
XVIII. — Map of the area north-west of Qasr el Sagha, showing
principal bone-bearing localities, 1/50000 „
SECTIONS.
XIX. — From the Birket el Qurûn through Dimê and Qasr el
Sagha to the summit of Jebel el Qatrani end
XX. — From Wadi Rayan to the summit of the escarpment
north of Gar el Gehannem „
XXI. — The Desert Ridge separating the Nile Valley and
the Fayûm „
XXII. — From Sidmant el Jebel in the Nile Valley through
Medinet el Fayûm to the summit of Jebel el Qatrani,
near Widan el Faras „
XXIII. — Middle Eocene escarpment near Qasr el Sagha „
XXIV. — From Garat el Esh to summit of Jebel el Qatrani „
FIGURES (IN THE TEXT.)
1. — Fault near Qasr el Sagha 32
2. — Section at Gar el Gehannem, showing the relation of
the Wadi Rayan series to the Ravine Beds 38
3. — Sketch-section across El Bats, one kilometre west
of Sêla 40
4. — Profile of beds of Geziret el Qorn 44
5. — Section of cliffs, western end of the Birket el-Qurûn 47
6. — Probable course of chief river of Upper Eocene and
Oligocene times 67
7. — Block of sandstone pierced by numerous borings 72
8. — Sketch showing relations of the Eocene to Pliocene
gravel terraces on the east side of the Fayûm 74
9. — Sketch-section through the summit of the Fayûm
escarpment at Elwat Hialla 76
10. — Sketch-map showing approximately the site of
Lake Mœris 83
INTRODUCTION.
* * * * *
The geological survey of the desert surrounding the Fayûm was
commenced in October 1898. At that time the area, although so near
to Cairo, was little known; the Rohlfs Expedition maps marked the
region as “unexplored,” and in fact with the exception of a
publication by Schweinfurth, who had traversed the region from north
to south, _via_ Qasr el Sagha and Gar el Gehannem to Rayan, there was
little information obtainable. The area being of considerable size
(12,000 sq. kilom.) and almost unexplored, both geologically and
topographically, the primary object was to construct as rapidly as
possible a general map of the depression, at the same time laying down
in broad outline the chief geological formations and trusting to future
opportunity to examine in more detail places of special interest.
Commencing work at Sêla, on the eastern side of the depression, the
survey was carried northwards along the east side of the cultivated
lands and thence through the northern desert, up to the summit
of the depression. After mapping westwards as far as the isolated
hill-mass of Gar el Gehannem the work was temporarily suspended until,
in the spring, the narrow defile of Wadi Muêla, and the Wadi Rayan,
forming the southern part of the Fayûm depression, were provisionally
examined.
In January 1901, samples of soil and water from the cultivated lands
were collected as an experimental soil-survey, and the results have
been published.[1]
During the winter’s work of 1902-03 a traverse was carried from Gar
el Gehannem in a south-west direction through a hitherto unexplored
part of the depression. On reaching a point midway between Cairo
and the oasis of Baharia a connection was made eastwards to Wadi
Rayan. In the winter of 1903-04 further exploration was carried out
in the neighbourhood of Gar el Gehannem.
It will be convenient here to briefly relate the history of the
discovery of the remarkable series of new and extinct animal forms, the
recovery of which from the Fayûm deposits has created such widespread
interest in the zoological world. When Schweinfurth crossed the region
in 1879 he obtained fossil bones, which were examined and determined
by Dames to be the remains of cetacea of the genus _Zeuglodon_,
from certain beds of the escarpment west of Qasr el Sagha; these,
it is believed, were the earliest vertebrate remains obtained from
the Fayûm. During the early part of the survey of the district,
remains of fish and crocodiles were frequently found in one of the
beds of the Middle Eocene, probably on the same horizon as that
from which Schweinfurth had collected. Fragments of bone were also
commonly met with on a much higher horizon (_i.e._, near the base
of the Fluvio-marine series) but nothing of particular interest
was obtained, as no detailed search could be made at that time. In
April 1901, during the survey of the western end of the Birket el
Qurûn, some of the localities found to be bone-bearing in 1898 were
re-visited in company with Dr. C. W. Andrews, who was in Egypt at the
time and had accompanied the survey in order to obtain specimens of
jackals, hares, etc., for the British Museum, in connection with the
forthcoming work on Egyptian mammals. In one of these Dr. Andrews
picked up several vertebrae which turned out to belong to a new
species of _Pterosphenus_.
Further north, when descending the Middle Eocene escarpments at a place
not previously examined, we crossed the outcrop of the bone-beds at a
point where a considerable number of mammalian and reptilian bones lay
exposed on the surface, many in an excellent state of preservation. The
importance of the find was evident, and a short examination of the
material on the spot enabled Dr. Andrews to pronounce the discovery
to be of the highest importance from a palaeontological point of view.
Some three weeks’ work in the immediate neighbourhood resulted in
a very good collection of vertebrates from the Middle Eocene beds,
including several new genera afterwards described[2] under the names of
_Eosiren_, _Barytherium_, _Mœritherium_, _Gigantophis_, etc. Moreover,
a fossil tooth brought in by one of the camelmen from a point several
kilometres to the north led to a careful examination of the lower beds
of the overlying Upper Eocene formation, which resulted in obtaining
well-preserved remains belonging to a new genus, since described as
_Palaeomastodon_. All the material so far obtained was taken home to
be worked up and determined at the British Museum and a preliminary
description was published by Dr. Andrews in the Geological Magazine.
In the winter of 1901-02 the survey of the Fayûm was resumed
with the special intention of following up the highest beds,
those in which _Palaeomastodon_ had been found. Continued search
westwards eventually led to the discovery of the remains of a large
and remarkable horned ungulate (_Arsinoitherium_), a preliminary
notice[3] of which was published in the spring of 1902. Shortly after,
the remains of several new smaller mammals and reptiles (_Phiomia_,
_Saghatherium_), including the shell of a large land tortoise
(_Testudo Ammon_), were obtained[4]. Further work in the winters
of 1902-03-04 led to a great deal more material being obtained[5],
mostly of course belonging to the same species, but including some
new genera _Geniohyus_, _Megalohyrax_, _Pterodon_.
The amount of palaeontological material is now so large that the
Egyptian Government has arranged with the Trustees of the British
Museum for the publication of the whole in a monograph to be issued
by the Trustees. The present report, therefore, deals only with the
geology and topography of the district.
[Footnote 1: A. LUCAS, _A preliminary investigation of the Soil and
Water of the Fayum Province_; Survey Dep., P.W.M. Cairo, 1902.]
[Footnote 2: ANDREWS, _Extinct Vertebrates from Egypt_. Parts I
and II. Geol. Mag. N. 8. Dec. IV, Vol. VIII, Sept. and Oct. 1901,
pp. 400-409 and 436-444.]
[Footnote 3: BEADNELL, _A Preliminary Note on Arsinoitherium Zitteli,
Beadn._ Survey Dept. P.W.M., Cairo, 1902. See also _A New Egyptian
Mammal (Arsinoitherium) from the Fayûm_. Geol. Mag. N.S. Dec. IV,
Vol. X. Dec. 1903, pp. 529-532.]
[Footnote 4: ANDREWS and BEADNELL, _A Preliminary Note on Some New
Mammals from the Upper Eocene of Egypt_. Survey Dept. P.W.M., Cairo,
1902.]
[Footnote 5: ANDREWS, _Notes on an Expedition to the Fayûm, Egypt,
with Description of some New Mammals_. Geol. Mag. N.S. Dec. IV,
Vol. X. Aug. 1903, pp. 337-343. Also _Further Notes on the Mammals
of the Eocene of Egypt_ (Parts I, II, III). Geol. Mag. N.S. Dec. V.,
Vol. I. March, April, May 1904.]
[Illustration: PLATE II.
BAHR YUSUF AT LAHUN BEFORE ENTERING THE FAYUM.]
PART I.
=TOPOGRAPHY AND STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY.=
* * * * *
The Fayûm, a large circular depression in the Libyan Desert, is
situated immediately west of that part of the Nile Valley lying
between Kafr el Ayat and Feshn (Plate XVII.)
The depression, which has an area, roughly speaking, of 12,000
square kilometres, is primarily divisible into three distinct
parts—cultivated land, lake, and desert.
SECTION I.—CULTIVATED LAND.
The cultivated land has an area of about 1,800 square kilometres and,
with the exception of the lake and part of the Wadi Rayan, occupies
the lowest part of the depression. Cultivation is necessarily strictly
limited to the area covered with alluvial soil. The latter, for the
most part identical in origin and composition with the river-alluvium
of the Nile Valley, covers a leaf-shaped tract between the bounding
desert on the east side and the lake (the Birket el Qurûn) on
the north-west. The easterly and central part of the cultivated
area forms a more or less level table-land, from which the ground
slopes gently away, especially on the north side, where the slope is
towards the lake and very marked. The cultivated land of the Fayûm
is directly connected with that of the Nile Valley by a narrow strip
of low ground, a natural passage through the desert separating the
Nile Valley and the depression of the Fayûm. Through this gap runs
the natural canal known as the Bahr Yusef, which is practically the
sole source of water in the Fayûm and irrigates the entire district.
The canal leaves the Nile Valley at Lahûn (Plate II), and follows a
somewhat serpentine course through the desert for about 5 kilometres,
irrigating a narrow strip of land on either side, which at Hawara
rapidly broadens out into the wide cultivated area of the Fayûm. Once
within the latter, the Bahr Yusef gives off numerous subsidiary canals
which traverse the country in all directions, constantly splitting up
into smaller branches until the water-supply is divided throughout the
whole area. With the exception of the self-contained basin of Gharaq,
on the south side of the Fayûm, the entire district drains into the
Birket el Qurûn, which occupies the lowest part of the depression,
to the north of the cultivation. The basin of Gharaq is irrigated by
the Bahr el Gharaq, a canal which takes off from the Bahr Yusef soon
after the latter enters the Fayûm[6].
The cultivated land of the Fayûm is traversed by two main ravines,
cut down in many places to the Eocene limestone below the alluvium
(Plates III and V.) At the present time these ravines carry canals
for irrigating the lower parts of the district, and also act largely
as drains to the higher lands. They were probably initiated by the
escape of water through breaches in the Bahr Yusef during flood time,
and have since been deepened to their present dimensions.
In addition to the main central cultivated area, the soil of which,
as mentioned above, is essentially identical with that of the Nile
Valley, large tracts of the surrounding country, more especially on
the north, north-west, and west sides, are also covered with alluvial
deposits. These latter, which include sands, sandy clays, and clays
of a quite distinct type, represent the slowly formed accumulations
of the quieter and more remote parts of the ancient Lake Moeris (and
the earlier prehistoric lake). The material was mostly derived from
the Eocene strata which formed the shores of the lake, augmented no
doubt by a certain amount of very fine sediment drifted from the Bahr
Yusef, and by sand blown in by wind.
It is noticeable that the thickest and most sandy deposits occur near
the borders of the lake site; when close under the Eocene cliffs,
as along the north side above the Birket el Qurûn, the deposits
closely resemble those of the latter. The finer more calcareous beds
occur further out and the true marls were accumulated only at some
distance from the shores of the lake.
When in Ptolemaic times the lake became reduced to a fraction of
its former size, large areas covered by these lacustrine clays were
exposed and some portions were brought under cultivation. Subsequently,
however, all these outlying districts were abandoned and became
absorbed by the surrounding desert, until in modern times the
cultivation was restricted to the central portion of the old lake
bed, a portion almost identical with the area over which true “Nile
Mud” had been deposited.
The construction during recent years of extensive irrigation works
in the Nile Valley has made it possible to largely augment the
water-supply of the Bahr Yusef to the Fayûm. High level canals are
being cut in various parts of the district and already large areas of
desert covered by these lacustrine deposits have been brought under
cultivation, notably to the north of Tamia and in the neighbourhood
of Qasr Qurûn. The approximate area covered with lacustrine deposits
can be seen on the map and with a sufficiency of water probably the
greater part of this area could be utilized, though the exact value
of the soil compared with Nile deposit remains to be determined.
SECTION II.—THE BIRKET EL QURUN.
The lowest part of the depression, lying immediately to the north-west
of the cultivation, is occupied by a sheet of water of considerable
size, known as the Birket el Qurûn.[7] The lake, which has a length of
40 kilometres, and a maximum breadth under ten, covers at the present
time an area of about 225 square kilometres. Sir Hanbury Brown obtained
no sounding exceeding 5 metres in crossing the lake to Dimê, but
according to the fishermen the depth increases towards the south-west.
Its long axis lies nearly east and west, and while on the north it is
entirely[8] bordered by desert, along a large part of the south side
the cultivated land approaches its shore, although even here a large
area actually bordering the lake is waste salty land as yet unfit for
cultivation. As already mentioned, with the exception of the Gharaq
basin, the lake receives the whole drainage from the cultivated lands.
The Birket el Qurûn is the existing remnant of the ancient prehistoric
lake which covered a large part of the floor of the Fayûm depression,
and which in historic times was converted into an artificially
controlled sheet of water—the celebrated Moeris—by Amenemhat I
and his successors in the XII Dynasty.
Lake Moeris, being used as a regulator of excessively high and low
Nile floods,[9] was of the greatest importance in connection with
the irrigation of the Nile Valley. In more recent times, apparently
under the Persians or Ptolemies according to Flinders Petrie,[10]
Lake Moeris ceased to perform its function of regulator; since that
time all water, except that required for irrigation of the reclaimed
land, being carefully excluded, the surface of the lake has continually
and gradually sunk to its modern dimensions.[11]
Lacustrine deposits, showing approximately the actual limits of the
ancient Fayûm lake, can be traced over wide areas of now barren
desert; these will be more fully dealt with later. The present
lake-level is still continually sinking owing to an improved system
of irrigation, by which a constantly decreasing amount of waste
water drains into the lake. Its average annual fall has, during the
last decade, been nearly half a metre,[12] and the slope of the land
being very gradual, large areas have been reclaimed during the last
few years, though whether the advantages derived from this constant
lowering of the lake are not more than balanced by certain drawbacks
is somewhat doubtful.[13]
With the new areas now being brought under cultivation the amount
of drainage water finding its way into the lake will increase and
the fall be checked. At the beginning of 1904 the level was markedly
higher than in the previous winter, and a difference of even half a
metre alters the shore line to a considerable extent, owing to the
flatness of the land by which the lake is for the most part bounded.
Although under the present desert conditions practically no material
from the surrounding desert is washed into the lake, doubtless a
considerable amount of fine dust and sand is carried into it by the
wind, especially during the violent sandstorms which occur frequently
in the locality. The high cliffs which bound the northern shore of
the lake throughout a portion of its length probably have the effect
of checking the velocity of both north and south winds, thus causing a
considerable amount of sand, which would otherwise be carried across,
to be dropped on its surface. This material, together with the fine
mud brought down by the canals on the cultivation sides, must have
an appreciable effect in raising the level of the bed of the lake.
The phenomenon of the extraordinary freshness of the water of the
Birket el Qurûn has been commented on by Schweinfurth, who shows
that the degree of concentration of salt in a lake whose volume
has been continually reduced, and to which salt has constantly
been added, should be many times greater than the actual existing
amount. An analysis[14] of the water at the west end of the lake
(where the concentration is greatest, owing to the distance from the
feeder canals) showed that the total salts amounted to only 1·34%,
of which 0·92% was sodium chloride. Dr. Schweinfurth[15] concludes
that the lake has a subterranean outlet, which alone would enable
it to maintain its comparative freshness.[16] In this connection
it is interesting to note the existence of distinct currents, which
may possibly be caused by such outlets, in certain localities on the
north side of the lake; and it is just possible that a careful survey
of the lake itself would not only prove the existence, but show the
exact position, of such underground outlets.
Most probably, however, the currents are simply local movements
produced by temporary differences of level, which might conceivably
be caused in such a large and comparatively shallow sheet of water,
varying considerably in salinity in different localities, by wind
and evaporation.
The comparative freshness of the lake and the possible presence of
underground outlets are of the highest importance in their bearing
directly on two of the most important questions in connection with the
proposed utilization of the Wadi Rayan as a reservoir, i.e. what the
leakage from such a reservoir would be and to what degree of salinity
its water would attain.
SECTION III.—THE SURROUNDING DESERT REGION.
With the exception of the lake and the cultivated area the depression
is practically entirely desert. The southern and south-western parts
include the wadies Rayan and Muêla, where freshwater springs occur,
surrounded by areas covered by a good deal of wild scrub. Apart from
these, however, no springs occur outside the cultivated land.
The topography of the region is so intimately connected with its
geological structure that an adequate description of the former is
not possible without constant reference to the latter. Full geological
details will, however, be reserved for later consideration.
[Sidenote: Area and Limits.]
The part of the Libyan Desert dealt with in this report has, excluding
the cultivated land and the lake, an area of some ten thousand square
kilometres. While some portions have been examined and mapped in
detail, others are still very imperfectly known, especially on the
south and south-west sides. The irregular cliff-line forming the
southern boundary of Rayan and the adjacent wadis may be taken as our
limit in this direction, beyond lying an almost unbroken limestone
plateau rising gradually and continually to the south. On the north
and north-west the area under description is bounded by the southern
limit of the great undulating high-lying gravelly desert-plateau which
stretches with little change of character to the Mediterranean. On the
east side the Nile Valley forms a convenient though not altogether
natural boundary; while to the south-west our limit practically
coincides with the boundary of the depression, where the floor of
the latter insensibly merges into the general desert plateau.
[Sidenote: Rocks forming the Area.]
The rocks forming the area within the above limits are almost entirely
of sedimentary origin, the exception being a band of hard basalt
intercalated at the very top of the series and exposed only on the
extreme northernmost limit of the depression. The total thickness of
sediments, from the lowest beds exposed in the bottom of the Wadi Rayan
to the summit of the escarpments, a day’s march north of Tamia,
is some 700 metres. These beds include every kind of sedimentary
deposit—limestones, marls, clays, sandstones, sands and gravels,
forming an ever-changing succession of rocks, varying considerably in
hardness and capacity for withstanding the agents of denudation. It is
not too much to say that the coming into existence of the Fayûm, with
its plains, lowlying depressions, precipitous cliffs and escarpments,
was largely dependent on the existence of this variable series of
deposits.
Apart from the presence of sediments varying greatly in hardness
and durability, the fact that the whole of the rocks have an almost
constant northerly dip of two or three degrees is a point of prime
importance. So small a dip may be scarcely noticeable in any one place,
but over the large areas with which we have to deal its influence
on the position and level of any individual bed is very marked and
the topography of the region would have been essentially different
if the strata had been quite horizontal.
[Sidenote: Origin of the Fayûm.]
The unique character of the Fayûm is alone sufficient to show
that special causes have acted in its production. Two main causes
stand out:—(1) the presence of thick bands of comparatively
soft arenaceous and argillaceous strata breaking up the usually
continuous hard limestone of the Middle Eocene; (2) the effect of
the Nile Valley fault in lowering the whole of the western desert
(north of Assiut) relatively to the eastern. The former took place
as the result of changed geographical conditions on the continent
to the south at the time in question, with which however we need
not deal here. On a homogeneous mass of rock weathering has little
power to form depressions of any magnitude, and this is the cause of
the continuous unbroken plateau which stretches southwards from the
Fayûm, the underlying rocks being one continuous thick mass of hard
limestone. Wherever softer intercalations are present differential
weathering takes place, and all the great depressions of the Libyan
desert owe their origin to the presence of soft easily denuded strata;
if the great homogeneous mass of Nile Valley limestone had stretched
unchanged westwards, the oases of Farafra and Baharia would never
have existed. They owe their origin entirely to the presence of the
underlying saddle of softer Cretaceous rocks. Similarly if changed
conditions had not led to the deposition of soft beds of clay, marl,
and sandstone, the western plateau would have continued unbroken
northwards.
A comparison of the two sides of the Nile Valley between Cairo and
Assiut shows that the tectonic movements, which largely determined the
existence of the valley itself, resulted in a considerable lowering
of the rocks forming the western side. This was brought about by
differential movements along the north and south line or lines
of fault, and by the presence of an east to west monoclinal fold
which is especially well marked in the neighbourhood of Heluan. The
depressions of the Fayûm would doubtless have existed irrespective of
this general lowering of the western desert relative to the east, but
denudation would have required an additional period of many thousands
of years before the floor of the depression was low enough to allow
of its actual connection with the Nile river.
As it has been maintained that the Fayûm is an area let down and
enclosed by faults, it may be mentioned here that all available
evidence points in an opposite direction; this question of faults
will however be dealt with in detail later. The influence of the Nile
Valley fault has been explained above and it must be remembered it
is one affecting not the Fayûm alone but the northern part of the
western desert as a whole.
For purposes of description it will be convenient to divide the whole
region into three parts: first, the southern portion, including the
wadis Muêla and Rayan; secondly, the central area, comprising the
extensive plain forming the floor of the depression as a whole, and
including the areas under cultivation and the Birket el Qurûn, as well
as the desert separating the Fayûm from the Nile Valley. Thirdly, the
northern portion, embracing all the rising ground between the floor and
the northern rim of the region. These areas will now be taken in order.
SECTION IV.—WADI RAYAN AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
This part of the Fayûm is of special interest in consequence of
its possible future as a reservoir. Although the area has not yet
been examined in detail by the Geological Survey it will be useful
to bring together all the information that is at present available.
[Sidenote: Colonel Western’s Survey.]
In 1882, as a counter-project to other irrigation schemes, Cope
Whitehouse suggested[17] utilising as a reservoir the Wadi Rayan,
a depression which had been referred to by Linant de Bellefonds.[18]
At the request of Sir Colin Scott Moncrieff the Government deputed
Colonel Western to make plans of the Wadi Rayan and surrounding country
and to ascertain the capacity of the depression and its capability
of being used as a reservoir. Liernur Bey under his direction
prepared a contoured map, and Colonel Western’s report, plans, and
estimates were published.[19] Some general details of the wadi and
surrounding hills are given and the detailed survey showed that the
30 metre contour line (above sea-level) enclosed an area of 706 square
kilometres (170,000 feddans). The lowest points of the depression were
found at 42 metres below sea-level. The sand, scrub and springs are
briefly referred to and the discharge of the latter is given as equal
to that of a very slow-going four inch hand pipe, the water running
out at about + 20 m. and disappearing in the sand. Wadi Muêla was
found to be separated from the Rayan depression by sandhills and rock
at a mean level of + 50 metres, the lowest point in Muêla being at +
25 metres. A line of levels was run from Rayan through Muêla to the
Nile Valley, the highest point crossed being at + 105 metres; for
fifteen kilometres the level was not below + 75 metres. In order to
find the most suitable passage for a canal to connect the Nile with
the Wadi Rayan two lines of level were made after a reconnaissance of
the hills near Sidmant el Jebel: the southern, from Ezba Menesi Ali,
near the Gharaq canal, to Mazana on the Bahr Yusef, being considered
the best. Along this line the highest point was only at + 44·7 metres
and the average + 35 metres along four kilometres. Borings were not
made here but judging from the surface excavation would be mostly
in soft limestone, sand, and conglomerate. A much shorter route is
from Deshasleh on the Bahr Yusef over the hills about 5 kilometres
to the south of Mazana or Sidmant into the Wadi Gharaq, a distance
of 30 kilometres. This route was not however levelled but is fairly
straight and apparently not much higher than the Mazana passage.
The survey of the + 30 metre contour line of the Wadi Rayan proved
that there were only two outlets into the Fayûm, both on the northern
side: these two openings are only from 400-500 metres wide and their
lowest points are not below + 25 or + 26 metres.
[Sidenote: Later Government Publications by Scott Moncrieff and
Willcocks.]
In 1889 Sir C. Scott Moncrieff published[20] a further note, in which
he briefly discussed the probable cost and benefits to be derived
from the suggested reservoir, concluding that at least the project
was one worthy of being thoroughly examined.
In 1894 the plans and designs in connection with the Wadi Rayan
were published[21] and the possibility of utilizing the Wadi Rayan
was examined by Sir William Willcocks, then Director General of
Reservoirs, from an engineering point of view, and the questions of
its probable cost and future utility were discussed. In this report
it is stated that the routes proposed by Colonel Western in 1888 pass
through salty marls and clays unsuitable for holding canals. Another
route is suggested, which after leaving the Nile Valley crosses the
high desert ridge in a straight line, passing through the so-called
Wadi Liernur (Wadi Lulu of Cope Whitehouse); this depression is 12
kilometres long and has its bed some 24 metres below the general
level of the desert. Plate 15 of the report shows the Wadi Rayan, the
deserts between it and the Nile Valley and the cultivated land. The
map was begun by Col. Western and completed by Willcocks. The lowest
point of Wadi Rayan is shown as − 42 metres and the depression is
separated from the Fayûm by a limestone ridge generally from + 34 to +
60 metres, except at two places where it falls to + 26 metres above
sea level on a length of 600 metres. Within the + 27 metre contour
line the wadi has an area of 673 square kilometres and a capacity of
18,743,000,000 cubic metres. Between it and the Nile Valley lie 30
kilometres of desert, of which 11 are occupied by a marked depression
discovered by Liernur Bey in 1887. At the extreme western edge of the
Nile Valley (here 20 kilometres wide) runs the Bahr Yusef. Comparing
the proposed Wadi Rayan reservoir and the ancient Mœris and allowing
for a difference of 4·5 metres between the levels of the Nile Valley
in B.C. 2,000 and to-day, Willcocks assumes that the high water mark of
Lake Mœris was at + 22·5 metres and its area 2,500 square kilometres,
against 673 square kilometres of the Wadi Rayan at + 27 metres. It
is pointed out that the ancient lake had the great advantage that in
those days the Bahr Yusef was an important branch of the Nile, if not
the main river itself, and the reservoir was connected with the Nile
by a natural ravine of great length and short breadth, across which
a massive embankment was thrown and destroyed annually, the surplus
water of high floods being stored for the deficiency of low floods.
The published sections along the lines of borings put down show the
different strata cut through by the proposed canal. The Nile Valley,
along the line of the inlet canal, consists of hard clay 6 to 10
metres thick, lying on coarse sand. Along the outlet canal sandy
clays and clays alternate to a depth of 10 metres. On entering the
desert sands and sandy conglomerate, with gypsum and salt, are met
with below the surface, then a yellow marl with salts, and finally a
plastic black clay overlying the Parisian limestone. These beds are
most extensive in the narrow neck of land between the Nile Valley and
the Fayûm and to some 10 kilometres to the south of it. They rise
to + 70 metres. There are some other marls inside the Wadi Rayan or
in the adjacent depressions and as they have to be traversed by the
canals form a serious factor, being easily dissolved in water; in
consequence Willcocks chose the alignment of the inlet canal along
the Bahr Belama where the extent of these beds would only be 2·5
kilometres against 9 kilometres on the alternative route marked on
the plan. A narrow neck of land, some 15 kilometres in length, runs
between the Fayûm and the depressions traversed by the proposed
Wadi Rayan canal; this neck is the continuation of the salty marls
and clays, but the limestone is near the surface and is overlain by
a thin deposit of sand and pebbles, with freshwater shells on its
northern slope at + 22·50 metres; the southern slope is entirely
devoid of them. Willcocks points out that it is evident the ancient
Mœris rose to + 22·50 metres but its water never penetrated into the
Wadi Rayan. The report goes into details of inlet and outlet canals,
discharge, necessary masonry works, cost, and compares the different
reservoir schemes.
After a careful review of the whole question, the scheme, while
considered perfectly feasible as far as available data went, was
abandoned by Sir William Garstin[22] in favour of the less costly
and more useful Nubian reservoir.
[Illustration: PLATE III.
EL WADI, RAVINE NEAR QASR GEBALI.]
[Sidenote: Schweinfurth’s report on the probable salt-content in
Wadi Rayan Reservoir.]
In an appendix[23] to the above report Schweinfurth discusses the
question as to how salt the water of such a reservoir would become. He
points out that the exact valuation of the salt which would be
contained in this reservoir when the water had risen to + 27 metres
cannot be accurately determined, owing to the absence of information
on certain points. The maximum quantity of salt in the desert soil
is estimated at 2% and this figure is used in his calculation,
which includes the amount of salt which would be brought into the
reservoir, (1) from the Nile during filling and in the extra water
entering to replace that lost by evaporation in the lake and canals;
(2) from the ground forming the bed of the lake (far the largest item);
(3) from the bed and banks of the inlet canal, both in the desert and
in the Nile Valley; and (4) from infiltration. The figure obtained
is 7,500 million kilogrammes, equal to 0·04 per cent, or almost one
twenty-fifth per cent of salt. This amount is only equivalent to half
the salt existing in many of the well waters used in the country for
irrigation. As Schweinfurth is careful to point out his calculation
is based on maximum and assumed data.
[Sidenote: Willcocks’ “Assouan Reservoir and Lake Mœris”.]
The question of the utilisation of the Wadi Rayan as a reservoir has
recently been again brought to the front, notably by Sir William
Willcocks in a paper[24] read before the Khedivial Geographical
Society, Cairo. The author, after pointing out the value of such a
lake, working in connection with the Assuan reservoir, discusses at
length the position, dimensions, and functions of the ancient Lake
Moeris. It is suggested that the main canal should be cut through
the desert opposite Mazana and crossing the so-called wadis Liernur
and Masaigega enter the Wadi Rayan at its easternmost point. These
wadis would in time become covered with alluvium and be converted
into valuable cultivated land. After examining the big ravines of
the Fayûm, where similar beds are exposed, the author comes to the
conclusion that the maintenance of canals in the saliferous marls,
which form part of the desert through which the inlet canal would pass,
would offer no particular difficulties.
With regard to the questions of leakage into the Fayûm and of the
water of the lake eventually becoming salted, Sir William Willcocks
says, “When the old Lake Moeris, or the present Fayûm, was full
of water and 63 metres higher than the bottom of the Wadi Rayan and
remained so for thousands of years, there was no question of the waters
having become salted or having escaped into the Wadi. The Wadi was
as dry as it is to-day and the great inland sea was always fresh.”
As to the question of leakage into Gharaq the author considers that
if water found its way into that depression it would be a distinct
advantage, as such water could be pumped into the Nezleh canal and
utilized elsewhere; he maintains at the same time that no leakage
will take place. Incidentally it is mentioned that the Wadi Rayan is
separated from the Fayûm by a limestone ridge, a statement which,
as will be shown later, requires modification.
[Sidenote: Wadi Rayan not yet examined in detail by the Geological
Survey of Egypt.]
Until a detailed geological examination of the Wadi Rayan and
neighbourhood has been carried out it will not be possible to form
reliable opinions on many of the questions raised in connection with
the prospective reservoir. The writer’s acquaintance with the area
is limited to a traverse in 1899 from the Nile Valley through Wadi
Muêla to Rayan and thence to Gharaq, and subsequently to a stay
of a few days duration in the neighbourhood of the Rayan springs,
after mapping the extreme south-west of the Fayûm depression. While
the accompanying maps may be taken as representing fairly accurately
the bolder topography of the region, they do not replace the older
contoured maps of the floor of the depression and the country between
it and the Nile Valley to the east, accompanying the report on
“Perennial Irrigation and Flood Protection in Egypt.”
The following description of this part of the district is based on a
traverse from the Nile Valley through the wadis Muêla and Rayan to
Gharaq; the detailed geological sections measured and examined along
the line of route will be given later.
[Sidenote: Traverse from Nile Valley through Wadi Muêla to Rayan
and Gharaq.]
[Sidenote: Warshat el Melh in Wadi Muêla.]
Between the village of El Gayat and the mouth of the Wadi Muêla
(16 kilometres to the north-west) stretches a gradually rising
undulating gypseous plain, superficially covered with loose sand and
rounded pebbles of quartz and flint. In occasional small hills the
white limestone which forms the underlying rock is visible. Near
the entrance to the wadi stands a somewhat prominent conical hill
composed of hard whitish fossiliferous limestone passing down into
more sandy and clayey beds. The bottom of the wadi is cut out in soft
green and brown clays, its surface being covered with blown sand,
fragments of limestone, flints and gypsum. From the mouth of the wadi
the Nile Valley cliffs run north and south in a winding irregular
manner. On entering the valley several outstanding flat-topped
limestone capped hills are passed on the right hand; they are in
part joined to the regular bounding cliff beyond; the eastern cliff
is steep and well-marked, while that on the west only outcrops here
and there, buried as it is in immense accumulations of blown sand,
rising in places into definite dune-ridges. Wadi Muêla has a length
of some 18 kilometres and lies nearly N.W. and S.E. The central part
of its floor is a sandy scrub-covered area, the lowest points lying
at about + 25 metres; just at the southern edge of the scrub stands
a small hill composed of hard shaly clays capped by white limestone,
surrounded by a saline, superficially dry. Holes dug in this are
at once filled with excessively salt water, and by evaporation of
the brine in shallow troughs supplies of white fairly pure salt can
be obtained. The area is known as Warshat el Melh. Banks of reeds
were found growing on the north side of the saline, the surface of
the latter being here composed of a soft brown sandy salty deposit,
caking here and there into a hard earthy impure salt.
In the lowest spots the saline frequently consists of soft wet sludge;
its area is about half a square kilometre but the depth of the deposit
is unknown. In the middle of the scrub-covered area to the north lies
Ain Warshat el Melh, a pool of water, fairly fresh and drinkable,
although ferruginous, measuring 10 by 5 metres in size and from 2
to 2½ metres deep. The water evidently rises from a spring on the
west side, round which are fifty square metres of green rushes, with
some larger bushes. The ground around and above is very saliferous;
between the spring and the ruins to the north the ground is sandy,
with many bushes and much scrub. This ground extends two kilometres
to the west, whence it gradually passes up into great masses of drift
sand; an occasional small outcrop of the top of the plateau above the
sand is all that serves to locate the position of the buried cliff. On
the east side the sandy ground with scrub extends about a kilometre,
beyond which the plain gradually rises for another kilometre to the
base of the cliff beyond, which is fairly steep and well-marked,
though with an entire absence of indentations of any kind.
[Sidenote: Der el Galamûn.]
Close to the north end of the valley, and about 33 kilometres from
El Gayat, lie the ruins known as Der el Galamûn bil Muêla. At
the time of our visit a new square stone building was in course of
erection and five or six persons were inhabiting the place. There are
several small palms scattered about to the south of the monastery and
an excellent running spring of clear water five hundred paces to the
south-west. A new well is being sunk within the premises. To the north
of the monastery the eastern cliff takes a marked trend to the west
for some three kilometres, whence it resumes a northerly direction,
always maintaining its character of a steep well-marked escarpment
rising some 100 metres above the floor of the wadi. At the corner
of the cliffs the lowest bed exposed is a white limestone; this is
overlain by gypseous clays passing up into sandy beds, the latter
being surmounted by the white limestone capping the escarpment.
[Sidenote: Wadi Rayan.]
We are here on the summit of the divide between Wadi Muêla and Wadi
Rayan, the height of the floor being about + 105 metres; to the north
stretches a gradually widening bay descending to the lowest ground
of the Rayan depression. Immense accumulations of sand almost block
the defile and stretch away to the east, and the hitherto well-marked
cliff on that side bends back and is lost to view. On the other side
however, the bounding wall gradually emerges from the dunes, getting
more distinct as it is followed northwards until it becomes quite
clear of the sand. The first glimpse of this cliff is seen a couple of
kilometres west of the pass in an outcropping headland, the next point
visible being some five kilometres further west. Between these portions
of the cliff are one or two outliers, surrounded by quantities of blown
sand. A depression known as Wadi Korif is reported to lie to the west,
and much scrub and some water is said to exist there; such a wadi is
marked on Schweinfurth’s map but apparently has not been examined.
Continuing in a N.N.W. direction high rather steep dunes occur
on either flank, running N.N.W. and S.S.E. Between the dunes is a
fairly hard undulating sand-flat affording an easy route; further
on a narrow defile between the dunes leads down to the centre of
the depression. The main areas occupied by blown sand are shown in
the accompanying maps. The most interesting part of the depression
is the bay lying to the south of the narrow well-marked promontory
jutting out from the southern plateau, a huge pointer, as it were,
in the direction of Gharaq; this is the Cape Rayan of Schweinfurth.
[Sidenote: Springs in Wadi Rayan.]
The bay is on three sides completely enclosed by cliffs and its
floor is thickly covered by a luxurious growth of wild scrub—chiefly
tamarisk and ghardag; numerous isolated palm trees occur, especially in
the neighbourhood of the water which exists at several points. There
are three particularly good springs,[25] the positions of which are
shown on the accompanying maps. According to Colonel Western’s
survey the water emerges at about + 20 metres. In 1899 the water of
the northern spring was found to have a temperature of 26°C. On our
last visit we found an artificially constructed pool of two metres
diameter and a depth of 30 centimetres; on the west side of this
were two springs, marked by the motion of the grey sand rising and
falling in the vents, down which a stick could be easily pushed to
a depth of two metres. The output of these springs together amounted
to six litres a minute; the water was quite clear and although soft
and rather ferruginous not by any means unpalatable (see analyses
below). The pool lies on an open bare sandy spot and is surrounded by
scattered bushes, none of which however are within fifteen metres;
a sand dune lies 150 metres to the south-west, with bushes and
seven or eight young palms. The southerly spring has an output of
21 litres a minute, and its water does not differ essentially from
that of the northern spring. Rising at the foot of a palm tree it
forms pools on either side; thence it flows a distance of 20 metres
into an artificially constructed shallow basin 2 to 3 metres across,
from which it runs away down the slope and disappears after five or
six metres. The east spring, which is situated on the east side of
the dunes bounding the mouth of the bay, consists of a small hole cut
out in soft sand. The water seemed good, although analysis shows the
salts content to be high; this spring does not run, but if emptied
the hole soon refills. The remains of old buildings occur near the
well, in the shape of loose roughly squared limestone blocks, broken
pottery, and remains of old walls; the latter are nearly level with
the ground and very thickly and solidly built.
To the south of the promontory lies the so-called Little Rayan. Here
there is a good deal of scrub, and water can be obtained on the lowest
ground at a few metres depth, although there do not appear to be any
surface springs.
[Sidenote: Geology of Wadi Rayan in broad outline.]
The geological succession of beds exposed in the cliffs of the
promontory is given later. Broadly speaking it consists of two
thirty-metre bands of hard limestone separated by 68 metres of softer
sandy and clayey beds. The lower of the limestone bands in places
forms the floor of the depression but more frequently the latter
is composed of the overlying sandy or clayey beds. The depression
is bounded on the north side by the same succession, and, as far
as could be judged from observations made on the traverse, the bed
of limestone capping the ridge, and forming the plain stretching
away to the Birket el Qurûn and to Gar el Gehannem, is identical
with that capping the cliffs to the south, i.e. is the uppermost of
the two thick limestone bands. At the two points more particularly
noticed, namely, the spurs projecting southwards into the depression,
23 kilometres west and 18 kilometres W.S.W. of Gharaq basin, the
sequence seemed to be the same as in the southern cliffs, although,
owing to the northerly dip, the upper bed of limestone lies at a
much lower level and the basal beds are not exposed at all. In both
these localities, however, some of the underlying clays were exposed,
as well as on the lowest spots crossed between the most easterly spur
(18 kilom. W.S.W. of Gharaq) and the extensive dunes lying immediately
west of Gharaq cultivation. These dunes, though of no height, have
remarkably steep sides. In crossing Gharaq to the Fayûm cultivation
occasional beds of yellow sandy limestone were noticed, but their
horizon was not determined. Numerous bored blocks, probably belonging
to the marine Pliocene, were observed scattered about. Apparently
the uppermost thirty-metre band of limestone passes continuously
northwards under the cultivated lands of Gharaq and the Fayûm;
in the ravines of the latter this limestone is not observed, the
soft limestones exposed below the alluvial deposits almost certainly
belonging to the overlying Ravine beds. The country to the east of
Gharaq has not been geologically examined and the exact locality in
which the thick bed of limestone dips underground and is overlain by
the succeeding beds is doubtful. Further north, in the desert ridge
east of Qalamsha, we have observed the Birket el Qurûn beds and a
section measured at this point is given later.
[Sidenote: Character of Ridge separating Wadi Rayan from Gharaq and
the Fayûm.]
As it appears to have been freely assumed that the ridge separating
the Rayan depression from the cultivated lands of Gharaq and the
Fayûm is formed throughout of solid limestone, it is important to
point out that, on our assumption of the identity of the beds of
limestone capping the cliffs to the south and the plain to the north
of the Wadi Rayan, the dividing ridge would in part be formed of the
underlying arenaceous and argillaceous beds.
[Sidenote: Question of leakage through dividing ridge.]
The absence of Nile deposit and freshwater shells in the Wadi Rayan
will, when confirmed after a thorough examination of the area, afford
the strongest evidence that the depression was never directly flooded
by Nile water. The fact that the dividing ridge is probably everywhere
above the highest level attained by Lake Mœris, and by the still more
ancient prehistoric lake, is almost sufficient in itself as a proof of
this. It does not however follow that there was not leakage through
the ridge into the Rayan basin, as such leakage might conceivably
have taken place to a considerable extent without the water ever
having collected in sufficient quantities to form even moderate
sized pools within the depression. The bottom of the depression is
for the most part covered with soft porous sandy deposits overlying
the Eocene bed-rock below, and at the present time the water of the
Rayan springs, though continually running, at once disappears from
sight, drains down to the lowest parts of the depression and is then
gradually lost by evaporation or underground leakage. In the lowest
parts of the depression this water is, as already mentioned, met with
on digging to a very moderate depth.
A careful examination of the flanks of the ridge separating the Fayûm
and Gharaq cultivated areas from Rayan might prove if such leakage
ever took place. If such was the case the seepage was probably
along the line of junction of the limestone and underlying clayey
or sandy beds. Even if it were proved that there never was leakage
from Lake Mœris into Wadi Rayan, it would not be safe to assume
that the converse would not happen, as the dip of the beds is from
south to north and this fact is one to be reckoned with. Judging from
the nature of the Eocene beds forming the Wadi Rayan, my opinion is
that leakage on a large scale would not take place, and that owing
to the northerly dip any water that escaped from the reservoir would
pass indefinitely northwards and would not find its way through the
overlying limestone to the surface either in Gharaq or the Fayûm
cultivation. A detailed examination of the local geology would,
however, be necessary to prove or disprove this. As to the question
whether the Wadi Rayan as a whole would hold water, as far as is known
there are no faults or other fissures of any magnitude through which
the water could escape. No doubt a good deal of water would be lost
before the smaller joints and passages, which exist in all rocks,
were silted up. Schweinfurth supposes that the freshness of the
Birket el Qurûn is due to the existence of subterranean outlets,
and such might also be found to exist in the Wadi Rayan. In any case
the argillaceous deposits from such a lake would very soon form a
bed to all intents and purposes impermeable.
[Sidenote: Degree of Salinity.]
With regard to the extent of salinity of such a lake Dr. Schweinfurth’s
figures are of considerable interest and value, although based wholly
on assumed data. The greater part of the salt would be derived from
the rocks and soil forming the bed of the reservoir and only by
extensive sample collecting and analysis can reliable figures be
obtained. We believe that in the lowest parts of the basin the salt
content of the ground would be found considerably in excess of the two
per cent used by Schweinfurth in his calculation, although his total
estimate would probably be found well within the mark.
SECTION V.—CENTRAL AREA OF THE REGION.
[Sidenote: Central Plain at the Fayûm Depression.]
The great central plain, forming the floor of the depression as a
whole, is composed of a hard bed of limestone some thirty metres
thick. This limestone, forming the uppermost member of the Rayan
series, is, as already mentioned, almost certainly identical with
that capping the cliffs to the south of the depression, and in all
probability in the eastern extension of the plain under description
underlies the whole of the cultivated lands of Gharaq and the
Fayûm. The feature of the plain as a whole is its marked and
constant, though low, dip to the north; so that its surface, bared
by denudation of the overlying soft limestones of the Ravine series,
over a distance of some twenty kilometres, is a true dip-slope,
at the base of which lies a strip of low-lying country extending
from beyond Gar el Gehannem through the Birket el Qurûn to the Nile
Valley ridge east of Tamia. The central and lowest portion of this
low-lying area is occupied by the Birket el Qurûn, the bed of which
lies fifty metres below sea level and is thus the lowest known spot in
the whole of the Libyan desert. Thirty kilometres south-west of the
western end of the lake, at the base of the dip-slope of the central
plain and immediately under the southern scarps of the great outlying
hill-mass west of Gar el Gehannem, lies another low lying basin, which
receives the drainage from a considerable area of the plain to the
south-west. The latter, consisting of the limestone above-mentioned,
is here superficially covered by gravel, and its dark undulating
surface is scored by numerous shallow winding water-courses marked
by an abundant growth of scrubby vegetation; some of the principal
of these drain into the basin just mentioned and after heavy rainfall
the water collects and forms a pool 600 metres in length by 100 to 150
metres wide. The base of the basin, at about 80 metres above sea level,
is marked by a level deposit of silt of considerable thickness, the
east end of the site being surrounded by great numbers of luxuriantly
growing tamarisks. Other similar basins exist on the plain to the
south, and under an isolated hill five kilometres W.S.W. several full
grown acacias were noticed. On the low ground to the north-west of
Gar el Gehannem, and at several points between it and the head of
the Birket el Qurûn, similar silt covered areas exist, some being
only from 30 to 40 metres above sea level.
In the extreme south-west of the region the limestone forming the
central plain is gradually overlain by the succeeding beds, so that the
ground rises imperceptibly to the level of the plateau separating the
depression from that of Baharia, distant some two days march. On the
eastern side, if the superficial alluvial deposits could be stripped
off, the underlying surface of limestone, sloping from south to north,
would not differ materially from the plain further west, except that
here, at any rate north of Gharaq, the Rayan limestone is overlain
by the basal beds of the Ravine series.
SECTION VI.—RIDGE SEPARATING THE NILE VALLEY AND THE FAYUM.
The desert ridge separating the Nile Valley from the Fayûm has, to
the north of the Bahr Yusef, an average width of some ten kilometres;
further south it narrows, until due east of Gharaq the ridge is barely
2½ kilometres wide. The highest points are situated to the east of
Sersena and Qalamsha respectively.
In both these localities the Eocene rocks, consisting of clays
alternating with beds of calcareous sandstone and sandy limestone
(pp. 39, 40) are overlain by thick deposits of conglomerate and
gravel, attaining altitudes of over 100 metres above the cultivated
land below. From these summits the slope is usually very gradual on
the Nile Valley side but much more rapid towards the Fayûm.
The ridge is cut down, however, to a comparatively low level in
four localities; to the north-east of Tamia; to the east of Sêla,
where the railway crosses; between Lahûn and Hawara, where the Bahr
Yusef canal enters; and to the south of Qalamsha, where along the
site of the proposed Wadi Rayan canal the highest point is only some
40 metres above the Gharaq basin and 27 metres above the adjoining
Nile Valley cultivation.
[Sidenote: Outline of earliest connection of Nile with Fayûm.]
One of the most interesting problems connected with the Fayûm may
be briefly alluded to here—When did the waters of the Nile first
obtain access to the depression?
As will be shown later the Fayûm was occupied by the sea in Pliocene
times, when the great gravel accumulations and gypseous deposits were
formed. Later the area became dry and denudation of the land surface
completed the work of erosion already begun in earlier times.
In Pleistocene times drainage down the Nile Valley appears to have
become definitely established and probably the river in the lower
part of its course eventually washed up against and broke down the
separating barrier of gravel between the Fayûm and the Nile Valley,
so that part of its waters obtained access to the depression, formed a
lake on the lowest part, and gradually rose until the whole basin, up
to the level of the channel connecting it with the Nile Valley, became
filled. Every year thousands of tons of sediment were carried in by
the floods and spread out on the floor in the shape of a fan. Probably
later, as the Nile level fell, the valley and the depression again
became disconnected, until the more modern river, with its gradually
rising bed, again attained the requisite altitude. In early historic
times the alluvial deposits had probably silted up the lake in its
southern central part, and when in the XIIth dynasty the district
was first taken in hand by Amenemhat I this part of it must have
had the character of a huge marsh, nearly surrounded by open water,
rapidly deepening towards the north.
SECTION VII.—THE NORTHERN DESERT REGION.
[Sidenote: The Plateau bounding the Fayûm depression to the north.]
All along the north-west and north sides the ground rises rapidly from
the base of the dip-slope of the plain in a series of escarpments to
the summit of the rim of the depression, averaging 340 metres above sea
level. Northwards from the summit stretches a rolling pebbly desert,
the prevailing character of which is a dark brown, relieved by lighter
brown grey and yellow patches, and especially flecked by the light
sandy slopes of the undulations. Although the latter seldom rise to
any considerable height above the general level of the plain, from the
top of the most modest eminence an immense view in every direction can
frequently be obtained. The monotony of this desert is only relieved by
the occasional belts of sand, which although extremely narrow in width,
run for immense distances in almost absolutely straight lines, and in
a N.N.W.—S.S.E. direction. Although none of these dunes actually
reach the rim of the escarpment we may mention here the beautiful
Ghart el Khanashat, an almost straight and apparently unbroken ridge
of sand, extremely narrow but of great length. Near its southern
extremity the width does not exceed 100 metres; the slopes on both
sides are frequently as much as 30°. The commencement of the Ghart
el Khanashat was observed on a march from Wadi Natrûn to Mogara; it
lay some way to the south of a line joining those two localities but
could not be accurately fixed from the line of route. The belt dies out
24 kilometres from the rim of the Fayûm depression, its termination
being particularly abrupt, although the height of the ridge diminishes
gradually throughout the last kilometre or two. The line of the belt if
continued would almost strike the western extremity of the Birket el
Qurûn; near its termination the desert is almost flat, the surface
being finely gravelly, with numerous groups of silicified trees;
tufts of coarse grass grow in some profusion on the sandy ground at
the base of the ridge on either side. A fairly well-marked road from
the Birket el Qurûn to the Wadi Natrûn passes the end of the ridge
and continues northwards at a distance of 200 metres from the east
side of the dunes, although apparently gradually diverging eastwards.
Except to the north and north-west of Tamia, where a somewhat extensive
and fairly level plain exists, the ground, as already mentioned, rises
from the limits of the central plain in a series of escarpments to the
summit of the rim of the depression. These cliff lines are broadly
speaking three in number and represent the escarpments of the three
great rock-stages which build up the northern part of the Fayûm,
i.e., the Birket el Qurûn series, the Qasr el Sagha series, and the
Fluvio-marine series. It would serve no useful purpose describing
these different cliffs in detail; their positions and characters are
apparent on the accompanying maps. The intervening plateaux are for
the most part dip-slope plains formed of hard bands of rock, which
resisting denudation, are left protecting the underlying strata while
the softer beds above are cut back at a comparatively rapid rate.
[Sidenote: Desert west and south-west of Gar el Gehannem.]
In December 1902 and March 1903 a traverse was made through the
unexplored country west and south-west of Gar el Gehannem, finally
connecting up with Wadi Rayan. The highest escarpment, i.e. that of
the Fluvio-marine series, dies out about 20 kilometres west of Gar
el Gehannem, gradually merging into the undulating gravel-covered
plain. The lower escarpments, those of the Qasr el Sagha and Birket el
Qurûn series, continue to a considerable distance in a south-westerly
direction, although gradually losing the characters of well-marked
cliffs. In fact westwards of this the depression gradually shallows,
until at a point some 50 kilometres south-west of Gar el Gehannem
the floor has attained the level of the ordinary desert plateau,
on which the outcrops of the beds of successive rock-stages follow
one another in regular order from south to north, but without forming
well-marked topographical features, as in the depression.
Hills, capped with dark hard ferruginous silicified grits and
puddingstone, were met with in the extreme south-west extension of the
depression; these deposits, which will be referred to more fully later,
considered in conjunction with the similar beds occurring within the
oasis of Baharia, and in the hills of Gar el Hamra, on the plateau
immediately to the north-east of that depression, are of considerable
interest and importance, especially in connection with the question
of the position of the early rivers which in Eocene and later times
brought down quantities of trees and animals, the remains of which
are so abundant throughout the later Fayûm deposits.
[Sidenote: Jebel el Qatrani and escarpments north of the Birket
el Qurûn.]
The boldest part of the region is the area lying between the Birket el
Qurûn and the summit of the depression to the north. All three lines
of cliff are here high and precipitous, and the uppermost escarpment,
well known by the name of Jebel el Qatrani, formed of a highly coloured
series of sandstones and clays and capped for a distance of many
kilometres by a thick bed of hard black basalt, is of a most striking
character. The eastern extremity of Jebel el Qatrani is perhaps the
most conspicuous point in the whole region; here the two conical black
basalt-capped cliff-outliers, known as Widan el Faras, stand side by
side, and from their summits the eye commands the whole region from
the pyramid of Lahûn on the one side, across Rayan to the south, up
to the extreme limits of the depression to the south-west. The rim of
Jebel el Qatrani has a fairly constant level of about 340 metres above
the sea. From Widan el Faras the escarpment trends northwards for a
few kilometres before again resuming an easterly direction, which is
continued till the well-marked bluff of Elwat Hialla is reached. From
this summit the pyramids of Dashûr, Saqâra and Giza are visible to
the north, as well as Cairo and the Nile Valley southwards, backed
by the bluffs on the Eastern desert limestone plateau.
To the south the isolated peaks of Garat el Gindi and Garat el
Faras form conspicuous landmarks on the more or less open plain
which stretches to Tamia and the limits of the Fayûm cultivated
lands. Eastwards the escarpments continue in a broken irregular
manner; the upper ones are gradually lost in an undulating plain,
while the lower eventually join those forming the northern part of
the ridge separating the Fayûm from the Nile Valley.
* * * * *
[Footnote 6: For fuller details of the cultivated lands, water-supply,
etc., of the Fayûm, the reader is referred to the excellent description
by Sir Hanbury Brown in his work _The Fayum and Lake Moeris_, London,
1892.]
[Footnote 7: “The Lake of the Horns,” so called from the narrow
horn-like promontories which jut out into the lake on the north
side. Views of the lake are shown in Plates I, IV, XVI.]
[Footnote 8: This was the case until a year or two ago. At the
present time a limited amount of freshwater finds its way to the
area immediately north of the east end of the lake and small plots
are cultivated by the arabs.]
[Footnote 9: _Herodotus_, Book II; _Strabo_, Book XVII; and _Diodorus
Siculus_, Book I, Chap. LI. (See Brown op. cit. p. 19-22.)]
[Footnote 10: “_Hawara, Biahmu and Arsinœ_,” 1889.]
[Footnote 11: BROWN, op. cit. p. 95. As mentioned above in some areas
the cultivated land was formerly even more extensive than at present,
notably near the modern villages of Roda, Tamia, etc.]
[Footnote 12: For details of evaporation and level-records of the lake,
see Brown, op. cit. pp. 6-9, and P.W.M. annual reports.]
[Footnote 13: See WILLCOCKS’ _Egyptian Irrigation_, 2nd edition,
London, 1899.]
[Footnote 14: See _A Preliminary Investigation of the Soil and Water
of the Fayûm Province_, by A. LUCAS, Survey Department, Cairo, 1902.]
[Footnote 15: See Appendix II, _A Note by Dr. Schweinfurth on the
Salt in the Wadi Rayan_, in Willcocks’ _Egyptian Irrigation_,
pp. 460-465.]
[Footnote 16: The word “freshness” is used comparatively, as
the amount of salt is sufficient to make the water unpalatable or
unfit for drinking, except near the feeder canals. It is, however,
quite good enough for most culinary purposes, and camels will usually
drink from it, although it is not advisable to water the latter from
the lake either before or after a fatiguing desert march, as in such
cases the salinity of the water may have bad effects.]
[Footnote 17: “Bull. of the American Geographical Society, 1882,
pp. 22 and 24.”]
[Footnote 18: _Mémoires sur les travaux publics en Egypte_, Paris,
1873, pp. 53, 54.]
[Footnote 19: G. A. LIERNUR, COL. WESTERN and COL. SIR C. C. SCOTT
MONCRIEFF, K.C.M.G. _Notes on the Wadi Rayan_, Cairo, 1888.]
[Footnote 20: _Note on the Wadi Rayan Project_, Cairo, 1889.]
[Footnote 21: _Perennial Irrigation and Flood Protection in Egypt_,
by W. WILLCOCKS, M.I.C.E. Dir. Gen. of Reservoirs, with A Note by
W. E. GARSTIN, Under Secretary of State, P.W.M., Cairo, 1894.]
[Footnote 22: The engineering details of the Wadi Rayan reservoir
project have since been more fully discussed by Sir William Garstin
in his “_Report on the Basin of the Upper Nile_” Cairo, (pp. 6-9
Appendix I).]
[Footnote 23: A Note by Dr. SCHWEINFURTH on the Salt in the Wadi Rayan:
an appendix to _Perennial Irrigation_, etc.]
[Footnote 24: _The Assuan Reservoir and Lake Moeris_, London, 1904.]
[Footnote 25: The following analyses of the chief springs in the
Wadi Rayan, made by Mr. Lucas, Chemist to the Survey Department,
are of interest:—
-------------------------+---------------+--------------+-------------
| NORTH SPRING.| SOUTH SPRING.| EAST SPRING.
-------------------------+---------------+--------------+-------------
Matter In Solution | 398·8 | 350·8 | 811·6
| | |
Chlorine calculated as | | |
Sodium Chloride | 278·4 | 238·2 | 585·5
| | |
Sulphur Trioxide | | |
calculated as | | |
Sodium Sulphate | 62·9 | 53·9 | 126·2
The above figures are parts per 100,000 parts of water.
Although the above analyses prove the water to be of a very poor
quality for drinking purposes, compared with many of the wells
and springs of the oases, the water, which is quite clear, seemed
good. Except for its softness and somewhat ferruginous taste, it
is quite palatable, and on my last visit we used no other for five
days. The south spring was found to yield 21 litres and the north 6
litres per minute. The water of the third spring does not run.]
[Illustration: PLATE IV.
WESTERN EXTREMITY OF THE BIRKET EL QURUN.]
PART II.
=TECTONICS.=
* * * * *
SECTION VIII.—FAULTING AND FOLDING.
[Sidenote: The Fayûm Depression formed by subaerial Erosion.]
More extended examination of the Fayûm region supports my original
conclusion[26] that the depression owes its origin to the same causes
as have given rise to the other oases-depressions of the Libyan Desert,
namely Baharia, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga[27]. No evidence has as yet
been met with which would suggest that earth-movements have played
any important part in the formation of the Fayûm depression. Local
faults, for the most part of short length and slight throw, occur
at certain points, but the influence of these is strictly limited to
their immediate neighbourhood. In fact, an examination of the desert
margin of the Fayûm conclusively proves that the depression has been
cut out through the action of ordinary subaerial denuding agents. The
somewhat prevalent idea that the central portion of the depression,
that covered by alluvial soil and the water of the lake, is faulted
down, also rests on no foundation, all available evidence pointing
in an opposite direction. Throughout the margin of the alluvial
covered area the Eocene beds forming the surface of the desert can
be observed to pass regularly under the cultivated lands; moreover,
the same strata are frequently exposed in the bottoms of canals,
drains, etc., far within the cultivation. The big drainage ravines
of El Bats and El Wadi are, through a large part of their courses,
cut down to the underlying Eocene rocks (Ravine beds), and in every
locality examined the strata were found in the position they would
be expected to occupy if undisturbed by tectonic movements.
[Sidenote: Deep boring at Medinet el Fayûm.]
The evidence yielded by the deep boring at Medinet el Fayûm is,
as far as it goes, to the same effect. The ground level at the site
was at 23·40 metres above sea-level and the following beds were
passed through[28]:—
Metres.
Alluvial clays, clayey sands and sands, the latter in
part coarse and pebbly 18·5
Yellow, brown, and grey marls and marly clays (probably
belonging for the most part to the Ravine beds) 112·5
Cement coloured stone } 43·5
}
Yellowish stone } Probably these 6·5
} limestones and
Light brown solid stone } occasional marls 10·5
} and clays belong
Cement coloured soft clay } to the Rayan series. 1·7
}
Cement coloured stone } 12·5
-----
205·7
-----
Bottom of boring 182·3 metres below sea-level.
The method employed in this boring was such as to bring up the
material as a ground-up paste, an examination of which does not afford
absolutely conclusive evidence as to the age of the rock. The absence,
after the first 18·5 metres, of sand or pebbles, common throughout
the alluvial deposits of the Fayûm, suggests that the base of these
beds was reached at that depth, but from this evidence alone it would
perhaps hardly be satisfactory to conclude that the underlying 112·5
metres were entirely Eocene. Considering, however that in the two deep
ravines of El Bats and El Wadi the underlying Eocene is very commonly
exposed at an average depth of some 15 metres below cultivation level,
it is highly improbable that in the centre of the area, at Medinet el
Fayûm, the alluvial deposits greatly exceed the same thickness. To
classify the 112·5 metres of marly clays as alluvium would give
the latter a total thickness of 131 metres and would mean that over
an extremely restricted area the Eocene rocks had been denuded to
such an extent that the floor of the depression lay 108 metres below
sea-level. The ground-up samples of rock closely resemble what might
be expected from the clays and marls forming the Ravine beds and
in all probability the greater part of the 112·5 metres belong to
that series. The harder stone met with at 131 metres, which, with
the exception of a band of soft clay, continued down to the bottom,
must be regarded as belonging to the underlying Rayan series.
[Sidenote: Dr. Blanckenhorn’s Fault theory.]
Dr. Blanckenhorn, in a paper published in 1901[29] dealing with
the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Egypt, describes the Fayûm as a
triangular depression bounded on all sides by faults. The position
of these bounding faults, as well as of numerous others more or less
parallel to the north shore of the Birket el Qurûn, is shown on an
accompanying map[30] and in a section drawn from Abshawai to the summit
of the plateau north of the lake.[31] Stratigraphical evidence, based
on the supposed identity of certain strata in different localities,
is brought forward in support of these faults, the author finally
stating that the production of the Fayûm is clearly and distinctly
to be referred to tectonic movements.
Our conclusion, formed after an examination of the region in some
detail, is so diametrically opposed to the above, that it may be worth
while to state here the evidence which we consider sufficient to refute
the existence of the particular faults described by Blanckenhorn.
Blanckenhorn’s fault-lines lie for the most part within the area
covered by the alluvial deposits and the water of the lake, so that for
want of exposures it is in most cases impossible to directly disprove
their existence, although strong presumptive evidence against them can
be adduced. The fault along the east side, however, is shown as closely
following the junction line of the desert and the cultivated land,
but everywhere along this line we found the marls and limestones
of the Ravine beds passing regularly from the desert under the
cultivated lands, without any sort of break or dislocation. Moreover,
an examination of the desert ridge to the east disproved the existence
of any faulting on the desert side, while the appearance of the
same beds in the ravine of El Bats, a few kilometres to the west,
proved the continuity of the beds under the cultivated alluvium in
this direction. Certainly no fault exists along this side of the
Fayûm. Similarly with regard to the fault shown as running from the
west end of the lake along the west side of the Fayûm cultivation
into the basin of Gharaq; although the desert margin along this side
of the Fayûm cultivation has not been so closely surveyed as that on
the east side, no evidence in favour of the existence of faults was met
with in the particular localities examined. With regard to the third
main bounding fault, considered by Blanckenhorn to run throughout
the length of the Birket el Qurûn and to be continued eastwards,
possibly to the Nile Valley and at least to join the fault on the east
side of the cultivation, we need only say that an examination of the
desert near Tamia disproves its existence at that end; while it is
difficult to imagine that a fault could traverse the lake from end
to end without revealing its presence in the island Geziret el Qorn
or in one or other of the promontories which jut out so far into the
lake from its northern shore. Everywhere the strata are undisturbed
and occupy their normal stratigraphical level and position.
Let us finally examine the series of more or less parallel faults
stated to exist between the island and the northern shore of the lake,
and on the mainland to the north and south of Dimê. Dr. Blanckenhorn
publishes a detailed section (op. cit., fig. 2., taf. XIV) showing
the positions of these step faults and their effect on the various
strata through which they cut. Fortunately, in this neighbourhood the
stratigraphical succession is well exposed and the presence or absence
of faults become matters of easy determination. The sequence of beds
from south to north is normal and uninterrupted and our interpretation
of the area is shown in the accompanying sections (Plates XIX, XXII,
and fig. 4). We have no hesitation in saying that such faults as
those shown on Blanckenhorn’s section do not exist. Their insertion
appears to be the outcome of an error in the correlation of strata at
the three points Abshawai, Geziret el Qorn and Dimê. The bed capping
the island is not identical with that forming the plain to the north
of Dimê, although shown to be such on the section under discussion.
In a later publication[32] Blanckenhorn admits being in error in
his correlation of the different beds in the localities in question
and completely withdraws his former statements that the depression
owes its existence to fracture and subsidence. The faults shown on
his detailed section from Abshawai to Qasr el Sagha are admitted to
be non-existent and in this retraction we may presumably include the
remainder of the faults described by the same author, as the evidence
for them is of a still less satisfactory nature.
In a wind-swept desert area like the Fayûm the slightest dislocations
are as a rule markedly obvious, and faults of any magnitude could
scarcely escape detection. Over the greater part of the region
every bed is laid bare on the surface and can be minutely examined;
while the marked irregularity of the escarpments afford sections cut
through the different series in every direction. Some areas, however,
are covered with superficial deposits, which more or less effectually
obscure the underlying rocks; for instance, on the east side a large
part of the central floor is hidden by the cultivated alluvium and
by the water of the lake; in the south a considerable proportion of
the floor of Wadi Rayan is buried under accumulations of blown sand;
and again large areas on the north, west, and south-west sides are
obscured by a superficial covering of loose gravel. But as already
mentioned, there is no reason to suppose that faults of any importance
exist within the areas thus partly obscured. The cultivated lands and
the Birket el Qurûn do not occupy low areas produced by faulting but,
as shown above, owe their positions entirely to the original northerly
dip of the strata and to subsequent erosion.
[Sidenote: Numerous small faults effects local.]
We have already stated that small local faults occur in various parts
of the Fayûm and some of these may be specially mentioned. The most
important is about 10 kilometres N.N.E. of Qasr el Sagha; the line
of fault lies nearly north-west and south-east, has a length of six
or seven kilometres, and affects both middle and upper Eocene beds;
at its northern end the fault passes into a fold before finally dying
out. Some of the Upper Eocene sandstones are hardened and silicified
and form a succession of black knobs along the line of disturbance. To
the south of these the axis of dislocation bends slightly eastwards and
takes the form of a sharp fold; further south it again becomes a true
fault, flanked by a line of highly tilted beds along its south-west
side. The effects of this fault are very marked locally but entirely
restricted to a limited area. The most important is the breaking of
the continuity of the escarpment of the Qasr el Sagha series; the
line of cliffs formed by those beds is a very marked topographical
feature and the fault in question causes a lateral displacement of
seven kilometres.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—Fault near Qasr el Sagha.]
In the neighbourhood of Qasr el Sagha and westwards for a considerable
distance, small strike-faults are of common occurrence in the beds
of the Qasr el Sagha series. As a rule these faults do not extend
more than a few hundred metres in length, while the down-throw seldom
exceeds two or three metres and in almost every case observed is to the
north. The hade may be 65° or more. Fig. 1 shows an example near Qasr
el Sagha. The most marked of these strike faults is seen to the east
of Garat el Esh; commencing a little to the north-east of that hill
it runs in a nearly due easterly direction till it cuts the cliffs of
the Qasr el Sagha series after some five kilometres. Its down-throw
is to the north and never exceeds a few metres; this small throw
is however sufficient to cause a marked displacement of the highest
bed of limestone forming the dip-slope surface of the plateau at the
summit of the Middle Eocene beds.
At first sight it might be suspected that the very irregular trend
of the different escarpments throughout the Fayûm was determined
or influenced by fault lines; an extended examination of the cliffs
however gave negative results, with one exception; the long narrow
hill-mass to the north east of Gar el Gahannem is bounded by faults
on both sides and that on the west can be easily traced for seven or
eight kilometres northwards, and throughout its length its influence
on the topography is very conspicuous.
[Footnote 26: BEADNELL. _The Fayûm depression: A Preliminary Notice
of the Geology of a District in Egypt containing a new Palaeogene
Vertebrate Fauna_. Geol. Mag. Dec. IV, Vol. VIII, No. 450, Dec. 1901,
p. 540.]
[Footnote 27: See reports on Kharga Oasis (1900), Farafra Oasis
(1901), Dakhla Oasis (1901), and Baharia Oasis (1903), issued by
Survey Dept. P.W.M., Cairo.]
[Footnote 28: Public Works Ministry Report. Cairo, 1899.]
[Footnote 29: BLANCKENHORN. _Geologie Aegyptens_, Berlin 1901, Pt. IV,
pp. 339-344.]
[Footnote 30: „ p. 341, Fig. 10. Skizze der Strukturlinien des
Fayûm.]
[Footnote 31: „ Taf. XIV. Querprofil durch den Fayûmgraben.]
[Footnote 32: BLANCKENHORN, _Neue geologisch-stratigraphische
Beobachtungen in Aegypten_, S.-Ber. d. math.-phys. Classe
d. kgl. bayer. Ac. d. Wiss. Bd. XXXII 1902, Heft III, München 1902,
pp. 428, 429.]
PART III.
=GEOLOGY.=
* * * * *
SECTION IX.—GENERAL AND CLASSIFICATION OF STRATA.
The geology of the area[33] under consideration is almost entirely
stratigraphical, the only igneous rocks being more or less local lava
flows. The sedimentary rocks of the district have yielded an abundant
fauna, both invertebrate and vertebrate; the latter is of unique
interest, including as it does a number of highly interesting animal
types quite new to science. An extended examination in the field,
and comparisons with the stratigraphical succession in other parts of
Egypt, checked by the determinations of the fossil molluscan fauna,
make it possible to form a very fair estimate of the approximate
age of the different rock-stages, although this may necessarily
be subject to modification when the specific determinations of the
entire collection of organic remains have been completed, and the
development of vertebrate life has been correlated and compared with
that in other parts of the world.
The depression is cut out in a great series of sedimentary rocks of
Middle Eocene, Upper Eocene, and Oligocene age, and one of the features
of the stratigraphy of the region is the constancy of many beds over
wide areas. The dip of the beds throughout the area is nearly due north
and at a very low angle, averaging 2° or 3°, but varying from 1° to
5°; this low dip is very constantly maintained except when locally
affected by small faults. The structural geology and tectonics have
already been discussed at some length in the previous sections.
The oldest beds found in the depression are the clays, marls, and
limestones with _Nummulites gizehensis_, of Middle Eocene age. These
are succeeded by a group of white marly limestones and gypseous clays,
which largely underlie the cultivated alluvium of the Fayûm. They are
followed by a series consisting of clays, sandstones, and calcareous
grits, some beds of which are characterized by the abundance of small
nummulites and _Operculina_. The latter series is followed by the
uppermost truly marine Eocene beds, a group of alternating clays,
sandstones and limestones, the “Qasr el Sagha Series” (or Carolia
beds), characterized by an abundant invertebrate and vertebrate fauna,
and equivalent to the Upper Mokattam beds of Cairo.
Above the Qasr el Sagha series, and well marked off from them both
lithologically and palæontologically, is found a great thickness of
variegated sands, sandstones, clays and marls, the “Fluvio-marine
Series” (Jebel el Qatrani beds), divided near the summit by
one or more thick intercalated lava sheets, the latter forming a
convenient junction line. This series of variegated beds is of Upper
Eocene—Lower Oligocene age.
No Miocene strata have been recognized within the area, but further
north, as at Mogara, Lower Miocene deposits occur;[34] and it is
probable that there is a continuous series of lithologically similar
beds from the summit of the Fayûm escarpments (Lower Oligocene)
to the Mogara Miocene.
The Pliocene is probably represented by the great terraces of
gravel—raised beaches—which are such a marked feature in the
geology of the district. Fossiliferous Pliocene deposits have also
been recorded from the south part of the area by Schweinfurth.[35]
Pleistocene and Recent are abundantly represented by lacustrine clays,
both ancient and modern, alluvial land and blown sand, the formation
of which deposits is continuing at the present time.
The following table will show the sequence of strata and the
classification adopted in the present memoir:—
TABLE SHOWING SUCCESSION AND CLASSIFICATION OF STRATA IN THE FAYUM.
-----------+---------+--------+-----------+---------------------------
| | |Approximate|
| | | average |
| | | thickness |
| | | in metres,|
| | | north part|
| | | of Fayum. |
| | +-----------|
| | | | Alluvial soil, clays,
| | | | sands, etc.
RECENT | | | |
AND | | | | Blown sand.
PLEISTOCENE| | | |
| | | | Lacustrine clays,
| | | | extending to about 23
| | | | metres above sea-level.
-----------+---------+--------+-----------+---------------------------
| | | | Gravel Terraces (?
| | | | Pleistocene).
| | | |
(MIDDLE?) | | | | Shell-borings on rock
PLIOCENE | | | | surfaces.
| | | |
| | | 50 | Fossiliferous deposits of
| | | | Sidmant.
-----------+---------+--------+-----------+---------------------------
| | | |_Fluvio-marine Series
| | | |(Jebel el Qatrani beds)_.
| | | |
LOWER | | | 30 | Sandstones and
OLIGOCENE |TONGRIAN | | | sandstone-grits with
| | | | silicified trees and
| | | |
| | | | Basalt sheets,
| | | | interbedded and
| | | | contemporaneous.
-----------+---------+--------+-----------+- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| | | | Variegated sands,
| | | | sandstones, clays and
| | | | marls, with
| | | | limestone-grits and thin
| | | | bands of limestone. The
| | | | upper beds contain _Unio_
| | | | sp., _Lanistes
| | | | bartonianus_, Blanck.,
| | | | _Turritella pharaonica_,
| | | | Cossm., _Potamides
| | | | scalaroides_, Desh., _P.
| | | | tristriatus_, Lam.,
| | | | _Pleurotoma ingens_,
| | | | May.-Eym. In the lower
| | | | beds are large numbers of
| | | | silicified trees
| | | | associated with
| | | | vertebrate remains
| | | | including _Arsinoitherium
| | | | Zitteli_, Beadn., _A.
| | | | Andrewsii_, Lankester,
UPPER | | | | _Palæomastodon
EOCENE |BARTONIAN| | 250 | Beadnelli_, Andr., _P.
| | | | minor_, Andr.,
| | | | _Mœritherium Lyonsi_,
| | | | Andr., _M. trigodon_,
| | | | Andr., _Megalohyrax
| | | | eocænus_, Andr., _M.
| | | | minor_ Andr.,
| | | | _Saghatherium antiquum_,
| | | | Andr. and Beadn., _S.
| | | | minus_, Andr. and Beadn.,
| | | | _S. magnum_, Andr.,
| | | | _Ancodus Gorringei_,
| | | | Andr. and Beadn.,
| | | | _Geniohyus mirus_, Andr.,
| | | | _G. fayumensis_, Andr.,
| | | | _G. major_, Andr.,
| | | | _Phiomia serridens_,
| | | | Andr. and Beadn.,
| | | | _Pterodon africanus_,
| | | | Andr., _P. macrognathus_,
| | | | Andr., _Eremopezus
| | | | libycus_, Andr., _Testudo
| | | | Ammon_, Andr., and
| | | | frequent crocodilian and
| | | | chelonian remains.
-----------+---------+--------+-----------+---------------------------
| | | |_Qasr el Sagha Series
| | | |(Carolia beds)_.
| | | |
| | | | Alternating limestones,
| | | | marls, clays and
| | | | sandstones with _Qerunia_
| | | | (_Hydractinia_)
| | | | _cornuta_, May.-Eym.,
| | | | _Astrohelia similis_,
| | | | Felix., _Echinolampas
| | | | Crameri_, Loriol.,
| | | | _Ostrea Reili_, Fraas,
| | | | _Ostrea elegans_, Desh.,
| | | | _Alectryonia Clot-Beyi_,
| | | | Bellardi, _Exogyra
| | | | Fraasi_, May.-Eym.,
| | | | _Carolia placunoides_,
| | | | Cantr., _Cardita
| | | | fajumensis_, Oppenh.,
| | UPPER | | _Macrosolen Hollowaysi_,
| |MOKATTAM| 155 | Sowerby, _Turritella
| | | | pharaonica_, Cossm., _T.
| | | | carinifera_, Desh.,
| | | | _Mesalia fasciata_, Lam.,
| | | | _Rimella rimosa_, Sol.
| | | | The vertebrate remains
| | | | include _Mœritherium
| | | | Lyonsi_, Andr., _M.
| | | | gracilis_, Andr.,
| | | | _Barytherium grave_,
| | | | Andr., _Eosiren libyca_,
| | | | Andr., _Zeuglodon
| | | | Osiris_, Dames,
| | | | _Gigantophis Garstini_,
| | | | Andr., _Pterosphenus
| | | | Schweinfurthi_, Andr.,
| | | | _Psephophorus eocænus_,
| | | | Andr., _Thallassochelys
| | | | libyca_, Andr.,
| | | | _Podocnemis antiqua_,
| | | | Andr., _P. Stromeri_, v.
| | | | Rein., _Stereogenys
| | | | Cromeri_, Andr., _S.
| | | | podocnemioides_, v.
| | | | Rein., _Tomistoma
| | | | africanum_, Andr., with
| | | | siluroids and _Propristis
MIDDLE | | | | Schweinfurthi_, Dames.
EOCENE |PARISIAN |--------+-----------+---------------------------
| | | |_Birket el Qurûn Series
| | | |(Operculina-Nummulite
| | | |beds)_.
| | | |
| | | | Sandstones and clays,
| | | | with sandy limestones,
| | | | and one or more well
| | | | marked concretionary
| | | | sandstones weathering
| | | | into large globular
| | | | masses.
| | | |
| | | | _Nummulites Fraasi_, de
| | | | la Harpe, _N. Beaumonti_,
| | | 50 | _Operculina discoidea_,
| | | | Schwag., _Qerunia
| | | | cornuta_, May.-Eym.,
| | | | _Plicatula polymorpha_,
| | | | Bell., _Pectunculus
| | | | pseudopulvinatus_, Orb.,
| | | | _Cardita Viquesneli_,
| | | | d’Arch., _Cardium
| | | | Schweinfurthi_,
| | | | May.-Eym., _Venus
| | | | plicatella_, May.-Eym.,
| | | | _Macrosolen Hollowaysi_,
| | | | Sow., _Lucina pharaonis_,
| | | | Bell., _Tellina
| | | | scalaroides_, Lam.,
| | | | _Clavellithes longævus_,
| | | | Sol., _Voluta arabica_,
| | | | May.-Eym., _Turritella
| | | | pharaonica_, Cossm., _T.
| | | | carinifera_, Desh., with
| | | | _Zeuglodon Osiris_,
| | | | Dames, and _Z. Isis_,
| | | | Beadn.
| | LOWER +-----------+---------------------------
| |MOKATTAM| |_Ravine Beds._
| | | |
| | | 70 | White marls and marly
| | | | limestones with gypseous
| | | | clays; _Nucularia_ sp.
| | | | _Leda_ sp., _Corbula_
| | | | aff. _pixidicula_, Desh.,
| | | | _Lucina_ sp. (?
| | | | _pharaonis_), _Tellina
| | | | tenuistriata_, Desh.,
| | | | _Zeuglodon Isis_, Beadn.,
| | | | and scales and teeth of
| | | | fish.
| | |-----------+---------------------------
| | | |_Wadi Rayan Series
| | | |(Nummulites gizehensis
| | | |beds)._
| | | |
| | | 130 | Limestones, marls, clays,
| | | | etc., with _Nummulites
| | | | gizehensis_, Ehrbg., _N.
| | | | curvispira_, _Carolia
| | | | placunoides_, Cantr.
-----------+---------+--------+-----------+---------------------------
SECTION X.—MIDDLE EOCENE (PARISIAN).
_A._—=Wadi Rayan Series.=—(_Nummulites Gizehensis Beds_).
(A.I.e. Schweinfurth, I.b. Mayer-Eymar,[36] Lower Mokattam of Cairo).
Beds of this group are chiefly found in the south of the
depression. The wadis Rayan and Muêla, as already shown by
Schweinfurth and Mayer-Eymar[37], are cut out in clays and limestones
of Lower Mokattam age; the upper beds of limestone, containing
among other fossil[38] numerous examples of the large _Nummulites
gizehensis_, form the greater part of the floor of the depression
west of the Fayûm cultivation, stretching from Jebel Rayan to the
foot of Gar el Gehannem,[39] 28 kilometres west of the western end
of the Birket el Qurûn (Section XX). Near the latter hill examples
of _N. gizehensis_ of inordinately large size occur.[40]
At the conical hill at the southern entrance to Wadi Muêla the
following beds were noticed:—
_Top of hill._
1. Hard white limestone with small nummulites, _Lucina_,
_Callianassa_, and echinids. Salt occurs in thin deposits along
joint-planes. The lower part of this bed is largely composed of
small nummulites and bryozoa. This generally white limestone
passes down into
2. Brown, usually sandy, limestone with oysters and small nummulites.
In it are intercalated thin beds of greenish brown sandstone and
clayey sand with impressions of bryozoa. Some of the brown sandy
limestones are full of small nummulites. _Ostrea_ and _Carolia_
numerous. The beds are not constant, the clayey sandstones passing
insensibly into sandy limestones.
3. Softer beds with large nummulites, corals, _Ostrea_, _Nautilus_.
4. Soft green and brown clays, with occasional oyster-beds.
At the corner of the cliff 7½ kilometres N.N.W. of the monastery of
Der el Galamûn, in Wadi Muêla, occur about 80 metres of hard white
nummulitic limestones, with beds of argillaceous sandstone and sandy
clays. Fossils are numerous and include nummulites of several species
(_N. gizehensis_, etc.), _Carolia placunoides_, different species
of _Ostrea_, with gastropods (among others _Terebellum sopitum_),
bryozoa, etc. It is very noticeable that the nummulites, especially
the small species, occur in remarkable profusion not only in the
limestones but often in the clays.
The following section will give a good idea of the general alternations
found in this area; it was measured at Jebel Rayan,[41] 24 kilometres
west of the western end of the cultivation of Gharaq basin.
_Top of plateau._ Metres.
1. Hard snow-white limestone with occasional nummulites
passing down into hard highly nummulitic limestone;
_N. gizehensis_, _Ostrea_ sp., _Lucina_ sp., _Mitra_ sp.,
and _Carolia placunoides_ occur among others 31
2. Vertical-faced bed of greenish clayey sands and sandy
clays (glauconitic) with _Carolia_, _Ostrea_ and
_Nummulites_. Near top of bed there is much gypsum. The
nummulites in this bed are often collected together so as
to form hard concretionary masses; these masses, by
becoming more numerous, finally form a hard bed of
nummulitic limestone intercalated in the clays near the
top. The junction of the clays with the limestone of Bed
No. 1 is very irregular 16
3. Greenish shelly sands and sandy clayey bands, interbedded
with impure chalky nummulitic limestones with _N.
gizehensis_, _N. curvispira_, and a third smaller species;
_Ostrea_ sp. This bed is much obscured by debris 11
4. Hard slate-blue shales, weathering to paper-shales 2
5. Brownish marls passing up into clays 2
Limestone band largely made up of small and large
nummulites and echinids 1
Glauconitic (?) and clayey sands and sandy clays,
with _Ostrea_, _Carolia_, and nummulites, weathering
with a vertical face. In some bands large numbers of
small and large nummulites lie embedded in every
position, as if tossed about by currents during the
process of becoming buried by sediment. Gypsum occurs
in thin veins and often encloses the nummulites 36
6. Hard markedly-white nummulitic limestone full of _N.
gizehensis_ and other species (_N. curvispira_, etc.);
the rock usually has a dark brown colour when freshly
fractured. A shelly band rich in corals occurs nine
metres from the top. The upper part is more marly and
less nummulitic than the rest of the bed. Base invisible 30
---
Total thickness of beds in the above section 129
---
[Illustration: PLATE V.
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS OVERLYING MARLY LIMESTONES (RAVINE BEDS) IN EL WADI,
RAVINE NEAR QASR GEBALI.]
The following is a section of the beds exposed in Wadi Muêla compiled
from a paper by Mayer-Eymar on this oasis:—
_Top._ Metres.
{ { White siliceous cavernous limestone with
{ { _Lucina globulosa_, Desh., _Gisortia_,
{ { _Rostellaria_, _Eschara Duvali_,
{ { Michelin., (Probably ≡ bed No. 1 of our
{ { J. Rayan section) 10
{ {
{ { Greyish-yellow marl, rich in places with
{ Id. { _Ostrea Gumbeli_, _Pecten mœlehensis_,
{ { May.-Eym., _Vulsella chamiformis_,
{ { May.-Eym., _Velates Schmiedeli_, Chemnitz,
{ { _Cerithium fodicatum_, _Pleurotoma_,
{ { _Borsonia_, _Fusus_, _Rostellaria_, etc. 6
{ {
{ { Yellowish sandy marl, with small
{ { nummulites.
PARISIAN. {
{ { Yellowish marls, divided by one or two
{ { bands of red clay, with _Nummulites
{ { gizehensis_ 7
{ {
{ Ic. { Hard bedded clay 1
{ {
{ { Vari-coloured gypseous marls 4
{ {
{ { (Probably ≡ beds 2, 3, 4 at J. Rayan).
{
{ { Very hard, rich greenish-grey, siliceous
{ { limestone with _N. gizehensis_, _Pecten
{ { corneus_, J. Sow., and _Lucina_ (_L.
{ Ib. { consobrina_, Desh., and _L. Defrancei_,
{ { Desh.). 4 to 5
{ {
{ { (Probably ≡ upper part of bed 5 at J.
{ { Rayan.)
There is a considerable difference in thicknesses between the above
section and that of Jebel Rayan. Our heights agree closely with those
of Schweinfurth, so that it is probable that Mayer-Eymar is in error,
notwithstanding his challenge of Schweinfurth’s figures in the
paper mentioned.
_B._—=Ravine Beds.=
The beds of this series, consisting of gypseous clays, clayey marls,
and white marly limestones, are met with bordering the cultivation
on the east, west and north sides; they pass under the alluvial
soil of the cultivated land and are frequently seen in the bottoms
of canals, and especially in the deep ravines known as El Bats,
and El Wadi (Plates III and V). The relation of these beds to the
Rayan series below is well seen at the prominent outstanding hill
Gar el Gehannem (Fig. 2); here the plain to the east and south is
formed of the uppermost member of the Wadi Rayan series, a limestone
full of _Nummulites gizehensis_. In the hill itself the latter is
directly overlain by gypseous and glauconitic sandy clays and marls,
with hard intervening beds of yellowish, often marly, limestone. The
upper beds consist of alternating clays, sandy limestone and sandstone,
at the top being a thick bed of the latter passing up gradually into
the sandstones of the Birket el Qurûn series. The following is the
detailed section:—
_Summit of Gar el Gehannem._ Thickness in metres.
1. Hard yellow and white limestone crowded with }
shells, chiefly large individuals of _Carolia }
placunoides_ and _Ostrea Fraasi_. Numerous }
nummulites in upper part } 25
}
2. Limestone full of _Turritella carinifera_, }
_Ostrea Clot-Beyi_ } 1
}
3. Brown clays } Lower 6
} beds of
4. Shelly limestone with _Carolia_, _Turritella_, } Qasr el
_Ostrea_, _Cardita_ and _Qerunia_ } Sagha
(_Hydractinia_) } Series 1
} (45
5. Greenish clays } metres) 6
}
6. Nummulitic limestone with _Carolia_, _Qerunia_ }
and four species of _Turritella_ } 1½
}
Light blue clays } 2
}
7. Light green and brown sandstone with irregular }
concretions } 2½
8. Brown shelly limestone full of _Carolia }
placunoides_, _Ostrea Reili_, _O. Fraasi_, }
_Turritella_, _Balanus_ and nummulites } 2
}
9. Yellow sandstone with bands of shelly }
limestone crowded with nummulites, oysters, } Birket
etc. Near top casts of _Cardita_, _Carolia_; } el Qurûn
also _Cerithium_, _Teredo_, _Ostrea_, } Series
_Pecten_, _Pinna_, and echinids. Calcareous } (50
concretions near base } metres) 18
}
10. Clays with much gypsum } 6
}
11. Yellow sandstone with _Balanus_. Bands }
crowded with two species of nummulites and }
occasional oysters. In places the }
foraminiferal bands become highly }
calcareous. Below similar, with hard }
compact grey bands and occasional fish-spines }
and teeth } 24
12. Similar to above, with numerous casts of }
_Cardita_, etc., and small _Ostrea_ } 24
}
Argillaceous sandstone with thick stockwork }
of gypsum and calcareous nodules } 6
}
13. Light yellow, brown, and greyish gypseous clays } 3
}
14. Yellow-brown sandstones and sandy limestones, }
often argillaceous. Fish-scales. }
}
Brown clays }
}
Yellow-white marls and marly limestone } Ravine 5
} Beds
15. Hard light yellow shelly limestone, in part } (10
marly, in part sandy } metres) 10
}
16. Ochreous-yellow, grey, and white clays and }
marls with gypsum } 9
}
17. Hard yellow-white shaly marl with numerous }
shell-impressions; much gypsum } 3
}
18. Yellow marly clays; soft yellow and grey-brown }
clays, dark sandy glauconitic, yellow, and }
black, clays. _Zeuglodon_ remains fairly }
common. Shell impressions. Much gypsum }
}
Fairly hard yellow-white glauconitic marl } 10
Marly limestone with _Nummulites gizehensis_ forming top of
Rayan beds.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.—Section at Gar el Gehannem, showing the
relation of the Wadi Rayan Series to the Ravine Beds.]
The clays, marls, and limestones of the Ravine beds are generally found
to contain fairly numerous shell-impressions, including _Nucularia_
sp., _Leda_ sp., _Cardita_ sp., _Corbula_ aff. _pixidicula_, _Lucina_
sp., _Oudardia ovalis_, Desh., _Tellina tenuistriata_,[42] numerous
small fish-scales, and occasional large teeth of sharks; while the
skeletons of the toothed-whale _Zeuglodon Isis_ are fairly common,
although usually in poor preservation.
In the ravine of El Bats, about one kilometre west of Sêla, these beds
(5-6 metres thick) are seen unconformably overlaid by 12 metres of
false-bedded gypseous sands and clays passing up into the superficial
cultivated loam. The junction of these alluvial deposits and the
underlying Eocene is distinctly unconformable and an intervening
pebble-bed is occasionally present (Fig 3).
In the large ravine known as El Wadi, which traverses the west side
of the cultivation of the Fayûm, these beds are frequently well
exposed; their lithological characters remain very constant. Here,
as in El Bats, they are unconformably overlain by a varying thickness
of Pleistocene and Recent clays. Their surface, a plain of subaerial
denudation, represents the original floor of the depression before
the entry of the sediment-carrying water from the Nile Valley through
the Lahûn gap; its irregularity is seen in Plate V.
The plain bordering the cultivation to the east of Sêla and Rubiat
likewise consists of these same white marls with fish-scales,
etc.; they pass regularly under the cultivated land. Shaly marls,
gypseous clays, and chalky limestones of the same age are seen in,
and to the south of, the railway crossing the desert between Sêla
and Medum. Eastwards they stretch into the Nile Valley, being found
exposed along the desert-edge bordering the cultivation at Medum,
Nawamis and Masaret-Abusia.
{ 1. Marsh and poorly cultivated land.
{
RECENT { 1a Cultivated loam.
AND {
PLEISTOCENE { 2. Sands and clays, with gravelly bands;
{ often concretionary and gypseous beds.
{
{ 3. Pebble-bed marking unconformable junction.
MIDDLE } RAVINE { 4. Gypseous saliferous marly clays, white
EOCENE } BEDS { marls and limestone with fishscales and
} { _Tellina Corbula_, etc.
FIG. 3.—Sketch-Section across _El Bats_, 1 kilometre West of Sêla.]
The same beds are exposed immediately to the east of the village of
Sersena, midway between Sêla and Tamia. They are again well seen
in the ravine below the last named village, and forming the narrow
strip of the desert projecting into the cultivation as far as the
northern end of the Tamia lake; they also occur on the shore of the
latter at El Tuba, about 2 kilometres south of the village. At Tamia
their exposure measures 25 metres in thickness.
At various points along the north side of the Birket el Qurûn
exposures of this series occur, the beds forming the lower sloping
part of the cliffs overlooking the lake, as well as the base of the
island “Geziret el Qorn,” although only the upper beds are visible
above the water of the lake. Both here and along the northern shore of
the lake they are for the most part hidden by the high level recent
lacustrine clays, but where occasionally exposed their identity is
certain, the characteristic small brown fish-scales being abundant,
besides occasional teeth, with shell-impressions of the different
genera enumerated above.
[Illustration: PLATE VI.
ESCARPMENT OF THE BIRKET EL QURUN SERIES NEAR THE WESTERN END OF
THE LAKE.]
At the western end of the lake the Ravine beds form the lower part
of the cliff as well as the plain to the south; the underlying
_Nummulites gizehensis_ limestone not being exposed. The series
consists of some 45 metres of white and grey shaly marls with harder
bands of siliceous limestone intercalated throughout, one of which
usually forms the uppermost bed. It is, in fact, the development in
places of one or other of these hard beds of limestone near the top
of the series that gives rise to the bold promontories, or horns,
which occur on the north side of the Birket el Qurûn.
The greater part of the marls and clays met with from 18·5 to 112·5
metres below the surface in the boring at Medinet el Fayûm in all
probability belong to the Ravine beds.
The maximum thickness of this series is 70 metres, measured at Gar
el Gehannem.
_C._—=Birket el Qurun Series= (_Operculina-Nummulite Beds_).
The above designation is convenient and applicable to these beds,
which form the escarpment immediately overlooking the lake on the
north side throughout its length.
The group includes all the beds between those last described and
the well-marked Qasr el Sagha series, homotaxial with the Upper
Mokattam (the brown beds) of Jebel Mokattam, near Cairo. It thus
appears to be the equivalent of the upper part of the white
beds (quarried limestones) of the Mokattam section, although
the lithological characters are entirely different, the massive
limestones of Jebel Mokattam being represented in the Fayûm by an
arenaceous and argillaceous series, deposited probably in water of
far less depth. Where the different members of this series are well
exposed certain beds are found to be characterized by the abundance
of two foraminifera, the one a small thin-shelled _Operculina_
(_O. discoidea_)., and the other a small thick nummulite.[43] The
tests of these foraminifera sometimes make up entire bands of rock. In
addition, the series includes certain beds which at times become very
fossiliferous, and contain a well-preserved molluscan fauna.
The series is well seen in the desert separating the Fayûm from the
Nile Valley; on the south-east and east sides of the former; along
the northern boundary of the cultivation and the Birket el Qurûn;
and westwards in the cliffs to beyond the outlying hill-mass of Gar
el Gehannem.
The following section was measured on the south-west of the Fayûm,
from Ezba Qalamsha (on the confine of the cultivation) to the ridge
summit 5 kilometres to the south-east.
_Top._ Metres.
Summit of ridge 5 kilometres south-east of Ezba
Qalamsha.
Pliocene Raised Beach with occasional _Ostrea
cucullata_, Born., made up of gravels with
blocks of limestone.
{ 1. Ochre-coloured calcareous sandstone and sandy
{ limestone crowded with foraminifera
{ (_Nummulites Fraasi_, etc.), _Ostrea_, etc. 38
{
{ 2. Sandy limestone, largely made up of
{ foraminifera (_Operculina discoidea ?_) 2
{
{ 3. Sandy shale 2
{
{ 4. Sandstone, partly calcareous, with much
{ gypsum 3
{
{ 5. Calcareous sandstone with concretionary
BIRKET { weathering 17
EL QURUN {
SERIES. { 6. Shale with gypsum 2
{
{ 7. Calcareous sandstone 4
{
{ 8. Shale with gypsum 2
{
{ 9. Calcareous sandstone, hard and yellowish 2
{
{ 10. Gypseous shale with numerous small shells
{ (_Tellina_ sp.) passing down into sandy
{ limestone. (This bed is the uppermost member
{ of the Ravine beds) 6
--
Total thickness 78
--
_Base, cultivation level._
To the north of the Lahûn pyramid the beds agree generally with the
above. The following are the chief divisions here:—
_Top of Hills._ Metres.
Gravel Terrace (Pliocene) 22 metres thick.
1. Calcareous sandstone and sandy limestones full of
nummulites; also _Ostrea_, etc. 31
2. Ochre-coloured calcareous sandstone or sandy limestone,
often crowded with _Operculina discoidea_ and some
_Nummulites Fraasi_, etc. 12
3. Sandy limestone with small foraminifera at top and
some shells. The upper part of this bed has been
quarried 20
4. Shales and shaly limestone; gypsum —
--
Total thickness 63
--
The foraminiferal sandy limestones of this series are seen at points
in the desert bounding the eastern margin of the cultivation, notably
east of Sersena and at the top of the hill 15 kilometres north-east
of Rubiat.
The following section was measured at the prominent hills 17 kilometres
28° N. of E. (magn.) of Tamia:—
Metres.
1. Greyish laminated sandy clays with gypsum; _Ostrea_
band near top 7
2. White sandy limestone with numerous badly preserved
_Ostrea_, _Pecten_, and other lamellibranchs 1
3. Dark-brown clayey sands with gypsum and grey sandy
clays with obscure plant-remains. Occasional _Ostrea_ 14
4. Hard, white, sandy limestone with numerous _Ostrea_
at top; soft clays with gypsum 1
5. Greenish and brownish sands and sandy clays with }
band of sandy limestone near top }
} 14
6. Greyish-brown, impure, sandy limestone weathering }
into large globular concretions. Shell impressions }
7. Sandy clays and marls alternating with impure }
limestones; much gypsum. Occasional fish-remains and }
small oysters } 22
}
8. Greenish sandy limestone with traces of shells }
9. Finely laminated grey-brown clays with black
carbonaceous matter and fish-remains; saliferous 3
10. White sandy limestone 1
11. Soft yellow sandstones, etc. }
}
12. White marls with fish-scales, etc.; base not seen. } 7
(This bed, and possibly also 9, 10, 11, should be }
reckoned as belonging to the Ravine beds) }
--
Total thickness 70
--
In the north of the Fayûm the series is characterized by the
presence of one or more very constant well-marked beds of hard
calcareous sandstone, which almost invariably weather into huge
globular masses. These masses should be regarded as huge weathered-out
concretions, rather than as water-rounded blocks, although no doubt
in many cases their roundness has been increased by the action of the
waters of Lake Moeris as the level of the latter gradually fell, and
possibly still earlier during the invasion of the Pliocene sea; from
the latter time also may date the millions of parallel vertical borings
with which these and other exposed rocks are often perforated. In
the various places where one of these beds forms the present surface
of the desert the concretions may be seen in different stages of
exposure, from the initial, where only just the tops are laid bare,
to the final stage where the globes are left completely weathered out,
as seen in the illustration (Plate VII). The appearance of the desert
when covered for many square kilometres with thousands of these blocks
is more easily imagined than described.
The lower beds of the Birket el Qurûn series form the island Geziret
el Qorn, and consist of clays and sandstones containing a considerable
number of organic remains. These beds were collected from and examined
by Schweinfurth[44] in 1879, the mollusca being subsequently described
by Mayer-Eymar,[45] while the vertebrate remains, which included
cetacean bones and numerous fish-teeth, were submitted to Dames.
The following species were determined by Mayer-Eymar, who indicated
that the fauna as a whole had a Bartonian aspect[46]:—
UPPER BED.
_Ostrea plicata_, Defr.
_Arca Edwardsi_, Desh.
_Lucina pomum_, Duj.[47]
_Lucina_ cfr. _tabulata_, Desh.
_Cardium Schweinfurthi_, May.-Eym.
_Cytherea Newboldi_, May.-Eym.
_Tellina pellucida_, Desh.
_Mactra compressa_, Desh.
_Corbula pyxidicula_, Desh.
_Calyptræa trochiformis_, Lam.
_Turritella angulata_, Sow.
_Ficula tricarinata_, Lam.
LOWER BED.
_Astrohelia similis_, May.-Eym.
_Goniastræa cocchii_, d’Achiardi.
_Heliastræa acervularia_, May.-Eym.
_Heliastræa Ellisi_, Defr. (_Astræa_).
_Heliastræa flattersi_, May.-Eym.
_Ostrea digitalina_, Dubois.
_Ostrea gigantea_, Sol.
_Ostrea longirostris_, Lam.
_Ostrea producta_, Delb. et Raul.
_Isocardia cyprinoides_, Braun.
_Turritella carinifera_, Desh.
_Turritella transitoria_, May.-Eym.
_Turritella turris_, Bast.
_Turbo Parkinsoni_, Defr.
_Pleurotoma_, sp.
The cetacean remains, belonging to the genus _Zeuglodon_, were
described by W. Dames,[48] who compared them with the American species
_Z. macrospondylus_ and _Z. brachyspondylus_, but did not then consider
them to represent a new species; in a later publication,[49] however,
the same author described similar but more complete remains, also
collected by Schweinfurth (from beds belonging to our Qasr el Sagha
series), as a new species, _Z. Osiris_. A considerable number of
fish-remains from Geziret el Qorn are also described in the earlier
publication. Although the difference in size of the bones of separate
individuals was considered by Dames to be sexual, it seems probable
that there are two distinct species of _Zeuglodon_, as the smaller
type appears to have a much greater upward range than the larger[50];
both species, _Z. Osiris_, and _Z. Isis_ occur in the Birket el Qurûn
series, and a very fine mandible of the larger was obtained from these
beds in the cliffs near the west end of the lake.[51] More recently
a third species has been discovered by Stromer and described under
the name of _Z. Zitteli_.[52]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.—Profile of beds of Geziret el Qorn.
1. Hard brown sand-rock with large concretions of weathered globular
sandstone on the summit; ferruginous nodular bands containing
shell-casts occur near top. 2. Soft gypseous clays with bands of
sand-rock and sandstone with _Ostrea_, _Cardium Schweinfurthi_,
_Turritella_, corals, _Zeuglodon_, chelonian and fish-remains. 3. Brown
sand-rock. 4. Soft gypseous clays and harder brown sandstones. 5. White
shaly marl with fish-scales; hard band at top and soft sandy shaly
clays below.
The surface-slope is much less than shown in sketch and is generally
covered by a deposit of lacustrine clays containing freshwater shells
and fish-bones.]
The accompanying profile (Fig. 4), measured during a hurried visit
to the island for the purpose of correlating these beds with those
of the mainland, shows the character of the lower beds of the Birket
el Qurûn series at this point.[53]
[Illustration: PLATE VII.
WEATHERED CONCRETIONARY SANDSTONE (BIRKET EL QURUN SERIES) ON NORTH
SHORE OF LAKE NEAR GEZIRET EL QORN.]
The upper beds of the Birket el Qurûn series in this part of the
Fayûm are lithologically similar to those just described, consisting
of alternating clays and sandstones, about 37 metres thick. They are,
however, generally much richer in fossil remains, which are likewise
usually better preserved than in the lower beds. Some of the brown
sandstones of this series are literally crowded with perfect examples
of many of the typical mollusca; and further west, near the end of
the lake, foraminiferal bands again become noticeable. Near Dimê the
escarpment of these and the lower beds is gentle and inconspicuous,
but followed westwards it becomes a bold precipitous cliff, increasing
in height towards the western end of the lake, where it is capped by
the lower beds of the Qasr el Sagha series.
The following section was measured on the mainland[54] opposite the
island Geziret el Qorn.
_Top._ Metres.
1. Gypseous clays, separated by a band of brown sandstone
crowded with white well-preserved shells, including
numerous individuals of _Plicatula polymorpha_, _Ostrea_,
_Turritella_ and _Lucina pharaonis_. Large vertebrae of
_Zeuglodon Isis_ occur on this horizon further to the
north-east 8
2. Sandstones and gypseous clays. Although here the
sandstones are not hard or predominant, this bed is
equivalent to the hard sandstone full of borings capping
the plain between the ruins of Dimê and the top of the
escarpment overlooking the lake. Further north this bed
often contains numerous _Carolia placunoides_ and _Ostrea_ 3
3. Gypseous clays 3
4. Clays, brown sandstones, and occasional beds of limestone,
often very fossiliferous, containing _Ostrea Reili_,
_Carolia placunoides_, _Cardita Viquesneli_, d’Arch.,
_Lucina_ sp., _Turritella pharaonica_,[55] _Clavelithes
longævus_, _Qerunia cornuta_, etc., etc. 10
5. Clays with fossils as in last bed, capped by hard band of
shelly sandstone 3
6. Alternating yellow-brown sandstones and gypseous clays 10
--
Total thickness 37
--
Bed with weathered-out sandstone concretions at top—upper bed of
section at Geziret el Qorn.[56]
At the western end of the Birket el Qurûn the series is well marked,
the sandstone beds forming the steep face of the bold precipitous
cliffs which are so marked a feature at this end of the lake. The group
has a thickness of some 50 metres and is overlain by the lower beds
of the Qasr el Sagha series; it is more convenient here to give the
entire section of the cliffs down to the base of the series under
discussion:—
_Top of Cliffs._ Metres.
1. Hard grey sandstone and shelly limestone }
passing up into calcareous sandstone }
(forming surface of plain dipping north). }
}
2. Impure sandstone with numerous fossils:— }
_Qerunia cornuta_, corals, _Ostrea Reili_, }
_O. Clot-Beyi_, _Carolia placunoides_, }
_Plicatula polymorpha_, _Cardita_ }
(? _fajumensis_) sp., _Clavelithes }
longævus_, _Serpula_, etc. }
}
3, 4. Clays with band of argillaceous } Lower part
sandstone. Septaria bed near base. }(42 metres)
Fish-remains. } of Qasr
} el Sagha
5. Earthy limestone crowded with _Ostrea } Series.
Clot-Beyi_, _O._ sp., _Plicatula }
polymorpha_, _Pecten_ sp., _Lucina_ sp., }
_Cytherea_ sp., _Turritella_ sp., }
_Nonionina_ sp., _Oliva_ sp., _Pleurotoma_ }
sp., _Vermetus_ sp., _Nautilus_ sp. }
}
6. Thin-bedded clays, grey with yellowish band, }
sandy clays interbedded with soft whitish }
sandstones with small irregular concretions. }
Clays, gypseous and sometimes carbonaceous. }
}
7. Shelly sandstone, hard on upper surface and }
very fossiliferous (forms similar to Bed 9). }
}
8. Gypseous clays. }
9. Thin (·25 to ·5 metre) hard dark
reddish-brown, very ferruginous,
concretionary-weathering sandstone with
nummulites and _Operculina_ and
well-preserved examples of _Qerunia
cornuta_, _Pecten_ sp., _Pectunculus_ sp.,
_Venus_ sp., _Cardita Viquesneli_, _Astarte_
sp., _Macrosolen Hollowaysi_, _Lucina_ sp.,
_Natica_ sp., _Cerithium_ sp., _Clavelithes
longævus_, _Voluta_ sp., _Dentalium_ sp. 1
10. Hard purplish clays 7
11. Soft yellowish sandstone with _Ostrea_
sp., _Cardita ægyptiaca_, _Lucina_ sp.,
_Turritella_ sp., and sharks’ teeth. Upper
surface tends to become dark, ferruginous,
and concretionary 1
12. Purple clays, with strings of gypsum 6
13. Soft light-yellow sandstones with harder
shelly bands and occasional concretionary
beds, forming vertical cliff-wall 17
14. Grey and brown clays 18
--
_Ravine Beds._ Total 50
--
In the cliffs west of the end of the lake the upper bed No. 9 continues
highly fossiliferous and yields the most perfectly preserved molluscan
remains to be found in the Fayûm and probably in Egypt.
A few kilometres east of the end of the lake a band of large globular
concretions occurs in the thick brown sandstone forming the vertical
face of the cliff. In many places the effect of weathering of these
rocks is of some interest, numerous “earth-pillars” having been
formed; these are largely the result of the action of blown sand,
assisted by rain, the concretions being left capping pillars of
brown sandstone, the sides of which are sculptured by the wearing
action of sand. The curious perforate or cellular appearance which
the weathered surfaces of this sandstone assume after long exposure
are particularly noticeable in this neighbourhood and in the Zeuglodon
Valley further west.
In the well-marked hill distant 17 kilometres to the north-east of
Gar el Gehannem, the soft fossiliferous sandstones of this series are
crowded with _Operculina_, _Nummulites_, and many species of mollusca
beautifully preserved.
At Gar el Gehannem the series is seen (Fig. 2 and detailed section
page 36) forming part of the slope of the hill, underlain by the
Ravine beds, and capped by part of the Qasr el Sagha series. It here
consists of yellow sandstones divided by a bed of clay; the sandstones
are often crowded with nummulites (of two species); also _Operculina_
(_discoidea?_), echinids, _Balanus_ sp., _Ostrea Reili_, _O. Fraasi_,
_Carolia placunoides_, and species of _Pecten_, _Pinna_, _Cardita_,
_Teredo_, _Turritella_, and _Cerithium_.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.—Section of cliffs, western end of the Birket
el Qurun.
Pleistocene.—(_a_) Lacustrine clays and sands with freshwater shells
and fish-remains; _Middle Eocene_, 1. 14 Clays, sandstones and impure
limestones; 15 White shaly clays and marly limestones.]
In the Zeuglodon Valley, 12 kilometres W.S.W. of Gar el Gehannem,
the brown sandstones of the Birket el Qurûn series are divided by a
narrow band of fine-bedded grey clay. Most of the fantastically shaped
hills on the south-west slope of the valley are carved out of the
lower division of the sandstone. The concretionary beds of the Birket
el-Qurûn series are not developed in this neighbourhood. Remains of
_Zeuglodon_ of both species (_Z. Osiris_ and _Z. Isis_) are remarkably
abundant and the skeletons of these cetaceans may be found in every
stage of weathering. The larger species, _Z. Isis_, is the more
common, and series of vertebrae, twelve to fifteen in number, can
frequently be counted in situ. The remains are most abundant enclosed
in the hard brown nodular bands of the series but in such cases it is
almost impossible to extract specimens of any value. In one instance
an almost complete skull of _Z. Isis_, measuring 116 cm. in length,
was found enclosed in a large block of the nodular rock.[57] Bones are
frequently to be observed protruding from the wind-worn sides of the
small hills, while those portions of the skeleton already weathered
out litter the ground below. Exposed they break up with rapidity,
although where the enclosing rock is softer than the bone itself,
parts of the skeleton beautifully preserved and perfectly free from
matrix may sometimes be obtained.
The molluscan fauna is represented by very large numbers of
pseudomorphs in sulphate of strontium (celestine) of the genera
_Lucina_, _Turritella_, _Fusus_ and _Nautilus_, the profusion of
individuals of a species of the latter being very marked. In the case
of lamellibranchs the radiating bundles of crystals of celestine are
seen to originate from a point placed centrally on one of the valves,
so that on this side (of a slightly weathered example) a radiating mass
of crystals is seen, while on the other appear numerous contiguous
circular areas, representing the terminal ends of the bundles of
crystalline fibres or needles. Apart from the quantities of organic
pseudomorphs, masses of crystalline celestine occur in the sandstones
throughout the valley, and altogether the quantity of sulphate of
strontium present must be very great. The gigantic oysters and other
fossils which occur in some of the overlying higher beds, and the
numerous individuals of nummulites in the sandstone itself, never
seem to be replaced by celestine.
Nummulites of two species are very abundant in some bands and the
presence in the Zeuglodon Valley of occasional individuals of the
large _N. gizehensis_ shows that in favourable localities this species
persisted throughout the time represented by the deposition of the
Ravine beds and ranged upward into the basal members of the Birket
el Qurûn series.
In the higher hills within the valley, and in the hill-mass on the
south side, the yellow sandstones of the Birket el Qurûn series
pass up into the basal members of the Qasr el Sagha series. In their
upper limits the sandstones become very nummulitic in places and at
the top bands made up of _Carolia_ and _Ostrea_ occur. Above these,
in the basal members of the Qasr el Sagha series, huge oysters and
finely preserved specimens of _Qerunia cornuta_ are conspicuous.
The dip in the valley is 2° north.
The southern face of the hill-mass lying immediately to the south of
the Zeuglodon Valley is an almost sheer cliff of over 100 metres,
descending to the silt covered basin below which has already been
noticed (page 23). On this escarpment the hard nodular marly limestones
of the Ravine beds are seen near the base, overlain by a mass of grey
shaly gypseous beds; above, forming as a rule a vertical wall of rock,
lies the hard massive brown sandstone of the Birket el Qurûn series,
here undivided by clays; at the top, highly fossiliferous alternating
clays and limestones are found forming the summit of the hills.
The exact junction between the Birket el Qurûn series and the
overlying Qasr el Sagha beds is naturally perfectly arbitrary, many
of the fossils being common to both groups. _Carolia placunoides_,
which is perhaps the most abundant fossil in the Qasr el Sagha series,
is sometimes very common in the upper beds of the underlying group,
and, as shown before, is common enough in the still lower _Nummulites
gizehensis_ beds of Wadi Rayan. So that, though this fossil itself is
no criterion, its relative abundance in the upper series justifies
those beds being called the “Carolia beds,” the additional name
of the Qasr el Sagha series being taken from the old ruin of that
name where these beds are fully seen.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.
MIDDLE EOCENE ESCARPMENT (QASR EL SAGHA SERIES) 12 KILOM. WEST OF
QASR EL SAGHA.]
_D._—=Qasr el Sagha Series= (_Carolia Beds_).
This division is strikingly developed in the north of the Fayûm,
where it forms a bold escarpment of great length, consisting of
an alternating series of very fossiliferous clays and limestones,
with sands and sandstone in the upper beds, of a total thickness of
175 metres.
This series is the equivalent of the well known Upper Mokattam beds of
Jebel Mokattam, immediately to the east of Cairo. The cliffs of this
hill are among the best known in Egypt and have been studied by many
geologists, including Zittel, Schweinfurth, Mayer-Eymar, etc.; these
authors have classified the whole of the Upper Mokattam of Cairo as
equivalent to the Upper Parisian (Middle Eocene) of Western Europe. The
series is far better developed in the Fayûm than at Jebel Mokattam,
where the total thickness is only some 70 to 80 metres.
In consequence of the discovery in these beds of a highly interesting
vertebrate fauna, including land animals, the series becomes of
the greatest importance. As already mentioned, as long ago as 1879,
Schweinfurth, during a journey across the Fayûm, obtained remains of
_Zeuglodon_ in the underlying series from the island in the Birket
el Qurûn. Subsequently[58] he obtained additional remains of the
same cetacean in a violet marl belonging to the present series, from
a locality 12½ kilometres west of Qasr el Sagha[59]; these remains,
as already mentioned, were described by Dames as _Z. Osiris_. Since
then important finds of land and marine mammals and reptiles have been
made in different beds of this series; these will be referred to later.
The outcrop of the Qasr el Sagha series occupies a large part of
the northern desert of the Fayûm. The beds are, however, best seen
in the cliffs about 8 kilometres north of the Birket el Qurûn,
where they form a steep double escarpment, running east and west,
nearly parallel to the northern shore of the lake. The dip of the
series being northward at a very low angle, and the upward slope
of the ground being in the same direction, this cliff dies out a
few kilometres north-east of Qasr el Sagha. A little further north,
however, a N.W.-S.E. fold and fault again exposes nearly the whole
of the beds of the series, forming prominent cliffs as before.
In the conspicuous hill 17½ kilometres 28° N. of E. (magnetic) of
Tamia the series consists of innumerable alternations of clays and
sandy limestone. The calcareous beds nearly always contain numerous
examples of _Carolia placunoides_, _Ostrea_ and _Turritella_ of
several species, but other well-preserved fossils are rare. The
exposed beds here have a thickness of about 55 metres, and are
underlain by the Birket el Qurûn beds with a well-marked band of
concretionary sandstone, the thickness of the two series together
being 127 metres. The upper beds of the former series are not here
exposed, the top of the hill being formed of well-rounded flint
and quartz pebbles embedded in a base of finely crystalline gypsum
(2 metres thick), a deposit of Pleistocene times.
To the north of Tamia a large area of desert is occupied by the beds
of this series; the district has the character of an undulating plain
with occasional groups of hills and low irregular escarpments. At
the groups of hills 12 kilometres N.N.E. of Tamia, and just to the
east of Garat el Faras, the Qasr el Sagha beds are found to consist
as usual of an alternating series of sands, sandstones, clays, marls
and limestones, with numerous individuals of _Ostrea_, _Carolia_
and _Turritella_, besides vertebræ, teeth and spines of large fish.
We may pass now to the locality where this series shows its best
development and exposure, the beds being all concentrated in one
bold escarpment, generally divisible into an upper and a lower
cliff. These cliffs overlook the Birket el Qurûn, although distant
usually about 8 kilometres, being separated from the lower escarpment
of the Birket el Qurûn series (immediately above the lake shore)
by a broad plain, the surface of which is usually the dip-slope of a
hard bed of sandstone. From Qasr el Sagha (6½ kilometres N.N.E. of
Dimê) these cliffs trend westward, keeping approximately the same
distance from the north shore of the lake; they have been followed
and mapped for a distance of 70 kilometres to a point 13 kilometres
N.N.W. of Gar el Gehannem, whence they could be seen still trending
in a direction slightly south of west (see Plate XVII).
Small faults are of frequent occurrence along these escarpments, but
are not of other than local interest; they almost invariably have their
downthrow to the north, and it seldom exceeds a few metres. Fig. 5
shows a section through one of these faults near Qasr el Sagha.
The following detailed section (Plate XXIII) will show the character
of the beds forming this division. As might be expected in such a
series, although the calcareous bands are fairly constant, there is
a continuous change of character among the sandy and clayey sediments
from point to point; the false-bedding is in places very striking.
The main part of the section was measured 3½ kilometres north-east
of Qasr el Sagha, but the lower beds not being exposed at that point,
they were added from the cliffs at the ruin itself. The total thickness
is 154 metres.
Thickness
_Top._ in metres.
1. Hard, white, grey-weathering, sandy limestone with
numerous shell-casts: _Echinolampas Crameri_,
Loriol, _Plicatula Bellardi_, May.-Eym. 2
2. False-bedded sand and sand-rock with grey and
green clays; concretions and bands of ironstone.
Hard, dark-brown or purplish ferruginous sandstone
band. Occasional vertebrae of _Zeuglodon Osiris_,
Dames, _Pterosphenus_ (_Mœriophis_)
_Schweinfurthi_, Andr., crocodilian and fish-
remains; coprolites 16
3. Hard, calcareous, ferruginous, clayey sandstone
with brown ironstone concretions. Occasional fish-
spines.
Clays with massive veins of gypsum forming a
stock-work, and left weathered out above surface.
_Cardium Schweinfurthi_, May.-Eym., _Cardita
fajumensis_, Oppenh., (_Cossmannella ægyptiaca_,
May.-Eym[60]), _Crassatellithes_ sp. 9
4. Hard, yellow, gypseous sandy limestone or
calcareous sandstone 1½
5. Sandy, glauconitic clays with gypsum; oyster-bed
at base in places. _Alectryonia Clot-Beyi_,
Bellardi, _Exogyra Fraasi_, May.-Eym. 10
_2nd escarpment._
6. Hard or friable limestone, sometimes sandy, full
of _Carolia placunoides_, Cantr., and _Exogyra
Fraasi_, also _Ostrea_ aff. _heteroclyta_, Defr.,
_Ostrea Reili_, Fraas., _O. elegans_, Desh.,
_Plicatula Bellardi_, May.-Eym., _Pectunculus (?)
ægyptiacus_, Oppenh., _Qerunia_ (_Hydractinia_)
_cornuta_, May.-Eym. 2
7. Purplish clays interbedded and remarkably current-
bedded with ash-grey sands, with both ferruginous
and highly carbonaceous bands with plant-remains,
lignite and natural charcoal. Vertebrate remains
fairly common, the mammalian including _Zeuglodon
Osiris_, _Eosiren libyca_, Andr., _Mœritherium
Lyonsi_, _Barytherium?_ Andr.; the reptilian
_Stereogenys Cromeri_, Andr., and _Tomistoma
africanum_, Andr., with numerous coprolites; also
frequent remains of siluroid and other fish.
Masses of coral, _Astrohelia similis_, Felix, in
places 12
8. Hard grey, close-grained, concretionary sandstone,
frequently weathering into huge elongated rounded
masses; _Turritella pharaonica_, Cossm.
Hard, purplish clays with grey sandy clays,
sandrock, etc. Occasional crocodile and fish-
remains 4
9. Hard ripple-marked sandstone. False-bedded
sandstones with clay partings; ferruginous and
lignitic bands with lumps of lignite. Occasionally
coprolites and remains of Sirenia and Crocodilia
are numerous 7
10. Hard or friable brown sandy limestone with shell-
casts filled with scalenohedra of calcite.
_Carolia placunoides_, _Turritella_ sp. ½
11. Gypseous clays, with red ferruginous band;
weathering to paper-shales below 4½
12. Light-yellow limestone and calcareous sandstone
with sharks’ teeth, _Mesalia fasciata_, Lam.,
_Cassidaria_ sp., _Rimella rimosa_, Sol.,
_Trachelochetus bituberculatus_, Cossm.,
_Turritella carinifera_, Desh., _T. Lessepsi_,
May.-Eym., _Cardita fajumensis_, Oppenh.
_Goniopora?_ 1
13. Slate-blue and brown gypseous clays with band
containing _Mesalia_ sp., _Cassidaria nilotica_,
Bell., _Exogyra Fraasi_ and _Goniaræa elegans_ 3
14. Sandstone and sandrock, light yellow 1
15. Yellow sandy friable limestone with casts of
shells and _Mesalia fasciata_, _M. oxycrepis_,
May.-Eym., _Turritella Lessepsi_, _T. pharaonica_,
Cossm., _Alectryonia Clot-Beyi_, _Ostrea Reili_ ½
16-17. Sands, sandy clays and clays with a double band of
limestone containing _Ampullina hybrida_, Lam.,
_Melongena nilotica_, var. _bicarinata_,
May.-Eym., _Tudicla_ aff. _umbilicaris_,
May.-Eym., _Turritella Lessepsi_, _T. parisiana_,
May.-Eym., _Solarium_ sp., _Alectryonia Clot-
Beyi_, _Plicatula polymorpha_ (occasional),
_Lucina fortisiana_, Defr., _L. pharaonis_, Bell.,
_Mytilus affinis?_ J. and C. Sowerby, _Astrohelia
similis_, _Goniaræa elegans_, Mich.; numerous
vertebrate remains both above and between
limestones including _Zeuglodon Osiris_, _Eosiren
libyca_, _Barytherium grave_, Andr., _Moeritherium
Lyonsi_, _M. gracile_, Andr., _Gigantophis
Garstini_, Andr., _Pterosphenus Schweinfurthi_ and
_Tomistoma africanum_, Andr. The remains of a
siluroid fish are abundant; also _Propristis
Schweinfurthi_, Dames. Large numbers of
coprolites. Silicified wood 12
18. Brown sandy limestone with casts of shells,
_Akera_ aff. _striatella_, Lam., _Ampullaria_, n.
sp., _Gisortia gigantea_, Munst., _Lanistes
antiquus_, Blanck., _Melongena nilotica_, var.
_bicarinata_, _Mesalia_ sp., _Cassidaria
nilotica_, _C._ aff. _nodosa_, _Solarium_ aff.
_bistriatum_, Desh., _Alectryonia Clot-Beyi_,
_Cardium Schweinfurthi_, _Exogyra Fraasi_, _Lucina
pharaonis_, Bell., _Macrosolen Hollowaysi_, J.
Sowerby, _Meretrix nitidula_, Lam., _M.
parisiensis_, Desh., _Ostrea flabellula_, Lam.,
_Tellina_ sp., overlying clays with gypsum 4
19. Sandy limestone with numerous _Carolia
placunoides_ and _Turritella imbricataria_, Lam. 1
20. Greyish-blue and brown ferruginous, sandy, and
other clays. Plant remains 13
21. Friable shelly limestone with occasional small
calcite veins ½
22. Clays 4
23. Hard yellow sandy limestone with _Ostrea_ and
_Anisaster_ (_Agassizia_) _gibberulus_ ½
24. Clays with thin bands of fibrous gypsum 6
25. Hard friable shelly limestone with numerous
fossils, including _Dictyopleurus Haimi_, Dunc.
and Slad.; _Akera_ aff. _striatella_, _Turritella
carinifera_, _T. imbricataria_, _T. pharaonica_,
_Alectryonia Clot-Beyi_, _Arca tethyis_, Oppenh.,
_Cardita_ aff. _carinata_, J. Sowerby, _C._ aff.
_depressa_, Locard., _C._ aff. _triparticostata_,
Cossm., _C._ cf. _gracilis_ and _depressa_,
Locard., _Cardita fajumensis_, _Cucullæa_ aff.
_crassatina_, Lam., _Exogyra Fraasi_, _Glycimeris_
(_Pectunculus_) _pulvinatus_, Lam., _Ostrea_ aff.
_Reili_, _Spondylus ægyptiacus_, Bull. Newt.,
_Pecten solariolum_, May.-Eym., _P. moelehensis_,
May.-Eym., _Qerunia cornuta_, _Euspatangus
cairensis_, Loriol, _Linthia_ sp., _Anisaster
gibberulus_, _Schizaster_ aff. _africanus_,
Loriol; bryozoa ½
26. Sandy clays with gypsum 7
27. Friable, gypseous, impure limestone with _Exogyra
Fraasi_, _Carolia placunoides_, _Turritella_ sp.,
_Qerunia cornuta_, _Alectryonia Clot-Beyi_ ½
28. Sandy gypseous clays 3
29. Friable sandy limestone with _Carolia
placunoides_, _Exogyra Fraasi_, _Turritella_ sp.
(The ruin of Qasr el Sagha is built on this bed) 1
30. Gypseous sandy clays with occasional oyster-
limestone with _Qerunia cornuta_; ferruginous
sandstone band, etc. 27
---
Total 154
---
Hard grey sandstone with _Zeuglodon_ and numerous _Carolia_,
_Ostrea_, etc., in places, capping plain to south of Qasr el Sagha
and forming the top of the “Birket el Qurun series.”
The chief divisions of the series remain fairly constant and can be
recognized and followed for many kilometres westwards.[61] The lower
beds form the summits of Gar el Gehannem and the neighbouring hills
(see Fig. 2 and section p. 36), the upper beds of the series being
exposed in the higher escarpments to the north.
Although vertebrate remains are more common on some horizons[62] than
on others, they are occasionally met with in most of the beds. The
most prolific bone horizon is, however, about half-way down, i.e.,
those beds numbered 16 and 17 in the above section; bed 7 also yielded
a number of remains. At the point where the upper part of the section
was measured, 3½ kilometres north-east of Qasr el Sagha, the beds
16 and 17 yielded a considerable number of land-animal remains, all
of which occurred within a fairly confined space, suggesting that
they had been carried out from the land to this point by a strong
river-current and deposited when the latter became too feeble to
carry them further out to sea. The same beds were also examined in
the faulted bay 8 kilometres to the north, but no bones, or at most
a very occasional fragment or two, were obtained here. This is easily
explained by the greater distance of this locality from the land-mass
to the south. Westwards the same beds were always found more or less
bone-bearing, isolated detached mandibles, limb-bones and vertebræ of
_Mœritherium_, being of frequent occurrence, although no such complete
remains were found as those from near Qasr el Sagha. Reptilian and
fish bones are very widespread throughout the area. An extensive and
detailed examination of these beds over a large area can hardly fail
to yield important results, as other localities where skeleton-carrying
currents came out from the land would very likely be discovered.
That the Qasr el Sagha series was deposited in fairly shallow water at
no great distance from land seems certain, not only from the general
lithological character of the beds but from the number of land-animal
remains and the frequency of river and shore-frequenting whales,
dugongs, crocodiles and turtles. The clays, moreover, are found
to abound with impressions of plants, and in some cases are highly
lignitic, being made up of compressed masses of vegetation including
solid twigs, now found in a state more resembling charcoal than
ordinary dense lignites; some bands approximate to an impure brown
coal. In certain beds of the series further to the west, very thin
seams of true coal occur; they were, however, never seen to exceed one
or two millimetres. The intercalated bands of limestone are generally
impure and do not indicate any great conditions of depth, but only
rather a temporary cessation in the supply of sand and clay. Corals,
moreover, abound along many horizons.
[Illustration: PLATE IX.
UPPER BEDS OF FLUVIO-MARINE SERIES WITH BASALT CAP, LOOKING WEST FROM
THE EASTERN EXTREMITY OF JEBEL EL QATRANI.]
SECTION XI.—UPPER EOCENE (BARTONIAN)—LOWER OLIGOCENE.
_E._—=Fluvio-Marine Series= (_Jebel el Qatrani Beds_).
Throughout the north of the Fayûm depression the Qasr el Sagha
beds, forming the uppermost Middle Eocene, are followed by an unique
series[63] of variegated[64] sands and sandstones, with alternating
beds of clay and clayey marl. The ever-recurring bands of limestone,
so common to the underlying marine beds, have now almost completely
disappeared, being represented by only an occasional bed of calcareous
grit, marl, or thin band of limestone. In the upper part of the
series occurs a horizontal sheet of basalt,[65] in all probability
contemporaneously interbedded; this forms a convenient datum line and
may perhaps be provisionally taken as an arbitrary junction between the
Eocene and Oligocene. Although as a rule remarkably barren of organic
remains, certain bands, especially in the upper part, yield numerous
individuals of a few species of mollusca, including _Lucina_, _Arca_,
_Mutela_, _Spatha_, _Unio_, _Lanistes_, _Turritella_, _Melania_,
_Potamides_, _Cerithium_ and _Pleurotoma_. From such an assemblage we
may without doubt conclude that the conditions under which the series
was deposited were estuarine or fluvio-marine, and this is further
proved by the non-marine lithological character of the beds. The
enormous quantities of silicified wood which occur in certain beds,
in the shape of hundreds of trees of great length and girth, together
with the numerous remains of land-animals, crocodiles, tortoises
and turtles, indicate that rivers of considerable size emerged from
the land to the south, the coast-line of which was probably not far
distant. In fact the retreat of the sea, which as already mentioned,
had probably already begun in Middle Eocene times, was now still
further continued, although the cause of this was apparently not so
much due to elevation of the land as to the continued deposition
of sediment from south to north beyond the land-shore. We may in
fact regard the series as a huge delta deposit in an area of local
depression, in which the great accumulation of sediment brought down
from the land continually caused the gradual retreat of the sea to
the north.
The same conditions would even appear to have continued on to
Pliocene times, as from the Fayûm northwards stretches an immense
plain of lithologically similar rocks, evidently accumulated under
similar conditions, and which appear to contain newer and newer
faunas from south to north. Thus, while in the Fayûm the remains
are of Middle and Upper Eocene and Lower Oligocene age, when the
latitude of Mogara is reached, some 70 kilometres further north,
a fauna distinctly Lower Miocene in aspect occurs; further north
again, as at Wadi Natrûn, Pliocene remains are abundant. We may
hope therefore that this otherwise barren desert, when carefully and
systematically explored, will yield us a continuous record of the
vertebrate life of the northern part of the African continent from
Eocene to Pleistocene times.
In the Fayûm, over a length of 80 to 90 kilometres, the basal beds
of the Fluvio-marine series, at a height of only a few metres above
the top of the Qasr el Sagha series, are frequently found to contain
the remains of land-animals, often in sufficient quantities to form
in places a true “bone-bed.” Besides land-mammals, remains of
large tortoises, turtles and crocodiles, are very common, some of
the latter being identical with those of the Qasr el Sagha series
below. Chelonian and crocodilian remains are to be found on various
horizons, but so far none but fragmentary mammal remains have been
observed in the higher parts of the series. It is interesting to
note that the bones in these beds appear to be most common near the
accumulations of fossil trees, thus suggesting that they were floated
out from the land at the same time and by the same river-currents. The
porous character of the sands and sandstones of this group has resulted
in the remains not being in nearly so hard or durable a condition,
except when coated with ferruginous sand, as those in the series below,
although the actual state of preservation is even more perfect.
Analysis shows that these bones, with the exception of the loss
of all organic matter, have undergone very little change. A sample
examined by Mr. Lucas was taken from a typically preserved pelvis of
_Arsinoitherium_ and gave the following result:—
DETERMINED. CALCULATED.
Silica 0·57 Silica 0·57
Oxide of Iron 1·98 Oxide of Iron 1·98
Lime 51·40 Calcium Phosphate 76·11
Magnesia trace Magnesium Phosphate trace
Phosphoric Acid 34·86 Calcium Sulphate 4·64
Sulphuric Acid 2·74 Calcium Carbonate 14·75
Loss on ignition, Organic Matter nil
being Carbon
dioxide 6·13
Chlorine trace Sodium Chloride trace
Not determined 2·32 Not determined 1·95
------ ------
100·00 100·00
The following composition of the bones of an ox, from an analysis by
Berzelius, is
appended for comparison:—
%
Phosphate and Fluoride of Calcium 57·35
Carbonate of Calcium 3·85
Phosphate of Magnesium 2·05
Soda and a little Sodium Chloride 3·45
Organic Matter 33·30
------
100·00
------
It is curious that these Eocene bones should have so completely
preserved their original composition considering the almost universal
silicification of the trees deposited in the same beds.
Most frequently the vertebrate remains are found in an unconsolidated
false-bedded clean quartz sand, the grains of which are semi-rounded
or angular; in some layers the sand is very coarse and polished, and
mixed with fine gravel. These deposits of sand, apparently brought down
by river floods, are not continuous along any particular horizon, but
are intercalated here and there in the ordinary sandstones, clays and
marls of the series; they occur chiefly, however, as local lenticular
masses along a more or less constant horizon near the base of the
series. The bone-remains are not absolutely confined to these deposits
of river-sand, but like the silicified trees are far more common in
them than elsewhere. Scattered mammal bones occur in the lower clays,
marls, and hard concretionary sandstones, while the remains of aquatic
animals, such as turtles and crocodiles, may be found almost anywhere.
From an examination of the series in the field, there is no doubt that,
in at least the centre of the area, the deposition of the lowest beds
was continuous with those of the Qasr el Sagha (Middle Eocene) series
below. Followed away from the centre (i.e. the district round Widan el
Faras, the eastern extremity of Jebel el Qatrani) the series gradually
thins out, and eastwards, at Elwat Hialla, some 23 kilometres north
of Tamia, has a thickness of only 40 metres, the basal beds being
apparently laid on to a bed of limestone of the Qasr el Sagha series
about the horizon of Bed 12 in Section XXIII. The junction here is
apparently one of perfect conformity as far as the individual beds go,
and the peculiar sequence does not seem to be due to ordinary overlap;
it appears as if the change from marine to estuarine conditions had
set in earlier here than further to the west, with the result that
the upper Qasr el Sagha beds are wanting. Moreover, the accumulation
of estuarine beds went on so slowly in this locality that the series
does not attain to nearly its normal thickness, while further east it
dies out altogether. The slight dip to the north is identical in both
series, their lithological characters being, however, very different.
Although the Qasr el Sagha series contains numerous bands of clay and
sandstone, the continual recurrence of thick beds of limestone at once
gives it a distinguishing feature from the group under discussion;
the latter is in fact characterized by the highly-coloured sandy, and
to less extent clayey, character of its beds. While the Middle Eocene
is essentially marine, the succeeding formation marks the retreat of
the sea and the incoming of estuarine and brackish water conditions.
Before discussing the age of the Fluvio-marine series it will be well
to describe its development in the field. The beds of the complex are
throughout the district always found following on above the Qasr el
Sagha beds, although their thickness varies considerably, as might
be expected in a series of this nature. The most easterly locality
to which the formation was mapped is the scarp 23 kilometres due
north of Tamia, known as Elwat Hialla. Here the beds form a separate
escarpment, consisting of only about 40 metres of sands and sandstone
grit (sometimes silicified) with pieces of silicified wood: some of
the beds of sandstone have a concretionary stem-like weathering. From
this point these beds extend westwards far beyond the western end
of the lake, always forming the highest escarpments of the Fayûm
depression. A kilometre or two from our most easterly point the first
basalt sheets are seen, and these, preserving the same level as far
as can be observed, continue some 60 kilometres further west, to a
point nearly due north of the western end of the Birket el Qurûn. The
series, only 40 metres thick at the eastern end, gradually thickens
as it is followed westward, until it reaches its maximum development
in the cliffs of Jebel el Qatrani, north-west of the temple of Qasr
el Sagha, where a thickness of some 210 metres is attained.
Just 29 kilometres N.N.E. of Tamia (6 kilometres N.W. of the prominent
western scarp of Elwat Hialla), a long hill offers a good section of
these beds, which consist of a variegated group of green sands, red
clays, coarse sandstones, red and yellow sand and sandstone, etc.,
capped by a band of hard impure yellowish limestone with numerous
enclosed sand-grains (calcareous grit). Near the same place is an
interbedded sheet of basalt, which is sometimes followed by another
band of impure limestone and the latter by false-bedded sandstone. Huge
logs of weathered-out silicified trees are seen strewn about.
The following is a detailed section of the series, measured from a
point 3½ kilometres W.N.W. of Elwat Hialla, and about 28 kilometres
N.N.W. of Tamia, to the top of the escarpment 4 kilometres further
north:—
Undulating sandy, gravel-covered desert[66] stretching northwards.
_Top of escarpment._ Metres.
1. False-bedded sandstones }
}
2. Band of impure limestone }
} 8
3. Interbedded basalt sheet }
}
4. Sandstone }
_(Section continued in hill ¾ kilometre further north-east)._
5. Hard yellow limestone with enclosed sand-grains; cavities
full of calcite 1
6. Greenish-white sand-rock 1
7. Hard reddish-brown stem-weathering sandstone 1½
8. Greenish or white sand and sand-rock 3
9. Variegated sandy clays; sand-rock with occasional
fragments of bone 6
10. White sand-rock 1
11. Rose-coloured sandstone 2
12. Hard grey white marly clays 2½
13. Coarse yellow sandstone 5
14. Reddish, white, and variegated sands and sand-rock 8
15. Grey, reddish and yellowish clays, with bands full of
plant-remains 3½
16. Brown clayey, sandstone 2
17. Greenish sandstone 1
18. Sandy grey clay 1½
19. Hard grey sandstone ½
20. Greenish sand-rock and clayey sandstone 3
21. Dark red clay 1
22. Sands, etc.; outcrop of bed covered with silicified trees
of large dimensions, 12-15 metres long 10
23. Clays with hard grey false-bedded sandstone and showing
fine mammilary weathering at top. Silicified logs on
surface 8
24. Red clays, sandy clays and argillaceous sands 4
25. Reddish sand-rock 1
26. Yellowish sand-rock, in part false-bedded 2
27. Red clays with thin sandy bands 1½
28. Coarse grey sandstone 2
29. Red and green sandy clays with thin band of hard white
sandstone at top 1
30. Bright red clay 4
31. Red clays with thin green sandy bands 3
32. Greenish sand-rock with thin red clayey bands 1
33. Reddish white mottled clayey sandstones passing up into
red and white mottled clays and sandy clays 8
34. Fine white sand }
} 3
35. Black ferruginous silicified sandstone }
--
Total thickness 90
--
_Base._
Junction with Middle Eocene (Qasr el Sagha series).
[Illustration: PLATE X.
EL QATRANI RANGE FROM THE SOUTH-EAST.]
A little further west, at a point 25 kilometres north of the eastern
end of the Birket el Qurûn, thick beds of white coarse sandstone
form the upper part of the escarpment. Below comes a bed of yellowish
impure limestone and below this an interbedded sheet of basalt 21
metres thick, underlaid by more white sandstone.
The series has almost always a constant dip of two or three degrees
to the north. Silicified trees are very commonly found strewn over
the surface both near the base and high up in the series.
At a point about 14 kilometres north of Qasr el Sagha definite organic
remains other than bone-fragments were for the first time met with
in the series. Here a fragment of ochreous-coloured grit containing
numerous specimens of a small _Melania_ was picked up and similar
rocks were afterwards found _in situ_. Calcareous grits and impure
limestones occurred at the same spot, and one of the harder more
compact bands of limestone was found to contain casts of _Cerithium_.
Also at a point 9 kilometres north of Qasr el Sagha hard
grey limestones, generally compact and cherty, and sometimes
semi-crystalline, are present, containing casts of _Melania_,
frequently filled with calcite. These overlie variegated sandstones,
and occur at about 40 metres below the basalt near the top of the
escarpment.
Blanckenhorn has determined my fossils from these localities as
follows:—
_Melania_ nov. sp., allied to _M. Nysti_ of the Oligocene.
_Potamides scalaroides_, Desh., an important guiding form of the
Middle Beauchamp Sands of the Paris Basin, and thus Upper Eocene.
_Potamides tristriatus_, Lam., of the Parisian (_Cerithium crispum_,
Desh.,) is nearly related to the frequent Middle and Upper Eocene
_C. perditum_, Bay, between which, according to Cossmann, transitions
exist.
_Cerithium tiarella_, Desh., of the Middle and Upper Eocene, but more
especially in the latter.
Blanckenhorn considers these determinations as certain, and thus
marking the complex as Upper Eocene, on the level of the “Beauchamp
Sands” of the Paris Basin, and consequently of the Lower Headon
Hill beds and Barton Clay of the South of England.
The following section was measured from the base of the series, 2½
kilometres N.N.W. of Qasr el Sagha, to the summit of the escarpments,
2 kilometres N.N.W. of Widan el Faras. The series has its maximum
thickness at this point.
Summit of escarpment of Fayûm depression, 2 kilometres
N.N.W. of Widan el Faras.
_Top._ Metres.
1. Sandstones with band of coarse dark ferruginous grit;
silicified logs occur weathered-out of this bed 18
2. Coarse sandstone-grit with yellowish calcareous base }
} 1
}
3. Greyish clay, possibly a product of decomposed basalt }
4. Basalt sheet, soft friable, grey or bright green, and
decomposed at base 5
5. Hard yellow calcareous-grit with calcite-filled
cavities, passing into semi-compacted yellowish sand,
hardened at junction with basalt 1
6. White and red sands }
}
7. Greenish sandstones and yellow concretionary sands }
with 2·5 cm. layer of calcareous grit, with gastropods } 27
including large _Cerithium_, _Melania_ sp., }
_Turritella pharaonica_, _Pleurotoma ingens_, }
May.-Eym., occasional lamellibranchs and also }
_Callianassa_ }
8. White, green and brown sands and sand-rock 17
9. Hard yellow calcareous grit }
}
10. Red and white clayey sand and sandy clays; some pebbly } 10
bands; _Lucina_ sp., _Unio_ sp.,[67] preserved in }
brown ironstone, common in places on this horizon }
11. Coarse grey and white sand (2 metres) }
}
12. Red clayey sands (1 metre) } 5
}
13. White and yellow sand and sand-rock }
14. Red clays 7
15. Sandy ferruginous band with lamellibranchs and
gastropods of genera _Unio_, _Pseudodon_, _Mutela_,
_Spatha_ and _Lanistes_, indicating fluviatile or
fresh water conditions of deposition 5
16. Green clay (1 metre) passing into a red variety }
}
17. White sandy clay (2 metres) }
}
18. Red clays } 6
}
19. White, brown, and red sands, partly consolidated }
}
20. Bright red clay }
21. Hard coarse sandstone 3
22. Hard compact light yellow limestone enclosing sand- }
grains (½ metre) }
}
23. White and yellow sands }
} 5
24. Greenish clays (1 metre) }
}
25. Coarse white sands with _Unio_ and _Cardium_-like }
lamellibranchs preserved in brown ironstone }
26. Grey clay 2
27. Hard yellow impure limestone (forms a small platform) }
} 2
28. Grey clays }
29. Red and yellow sands with hard base of grey sandstone 15
30. Grey sandstones. Base of basalt-capped escarpment 7
_(Section continued ¾ kilometre south-east)._
31. Hard blue-grey compact cherty limestone (½ metre) with
casts of _Melania_; hollows often filled with calcite 18
32. Variegated (red, white and yellow) sands, sand-rock }
and sandy clays }
}
33. Hard compact close-grained limestone } 18
}
34. Red and white variegated sands and sand-rock, with }
some bands of red clay }
35. Hard yellow impure limestone (⅓) }
}
36. Grey clays }
} 14
37. Coarse white sand }
}
38. Brown calcareous sandstones }
39. Greenish and grey sandy clays (3 metres) }
} 8
40. Alternating white and red sands }
41. Coarse yellow calcareous grit (½ metre) }
}
42. Light green sandstone } 2
}
43. Reddish clays }
44. White sand 2
45. Alternating white and bright red sands }
} 19
46. Grey sandstone with silicified wood; occasional }
crocodilian and other bones }
47. Hard red clays 5
48. Grey and brown clays, sandy clays, and thin beds of
sandstone with some silicified wood 19
49. Grey sandstones and loose false-bedded sandy clays
with many silicified trees and remains[68] of
_Arsinoitherium Zitteli_, Bead., _Palæomastodon
Beadnelli_, Andr., _Mœritherium_ sp., _Phiomia
serridens_, Andr. and Beadn., _Saghatherium antiquum_,
Andr. and Beadn., _S. minus_, Andr. and Beadn.,
_Megalohyrax eocænus_, Andr., _Ancodus Gorringei_,
Andr. and Beadn., _Pterodon africanus_, Andr.,
_Crocodilus_ sp., _Tomistoma africanum_, Andr., and
large and numerous tortoises (_Testudo Ammon_,
Andr.)[69] and turtles[70], and very rarely
fragmentary fish-remains 5
50. Thin bands of limestone }
}
51. Yellow sand-rock }
}
52. Grey sandstone with fragments of bone (½ metre) } 25
}
53. Brown calcareous-grit (½ metre) }
}
54. Light green sand-rock and sandstone }
Approximate total thickness in metres 271
The specimens collected from Bed 15, on about the same horizon as the
fossils mentioned from the locality 14 kilometres north of Qasr el
Sagha, were examined by Blanckenhorn, who has published the following
notice of them:—
“I should first mention the fresh-water shells found by Beadnell
in brown sandstone 1 kilometre north of Camp 19 (i.e. at Widan el
Faras), which, in the absence of special literature on the Palaeogene
fresh-water shells of North Africa and nearer Asia, I have compared
with the fauna of to-day, in which I was most kindly helped by
Professor v. Martens, Director of the Conchological Collection of
the Natural History Museum. The greater number of the forms have a
distinctly tropical, and more especially Central African, character.
_Unio_ sp., small, related to the recent _U. Nyassænsis_ of Lake
Nyassa.
_Unio_, related to _U. Homsensis_[71] Lea, from Syria, and
_U. Bonneaudi_ from Cochin China, with many radial folds behind the
umbo which run obliquely from the blunt edge backwards towards the
hinge-border.
_Unio_, related to _U. teretiusculus_, Phil. (_Caillaudi_, Fer.,
_lithophagus_, Ziegli.) of the Nile.
_Pseudodon?_ sp.
_Mutela_ (a genus of tropical Africa) sp., long, with a straight
finely-toothed hinge-border which very much recalls that of _Barbatia_
(a sub-genus of _Arca_).
_Spatha_ sp. related to _S. dahomeyensis_ and _S. Droueti_ of Assinia
in West Africa.
_Lanistes carinatus_,[72] scarcely distinguishable from the Nile form.
The _Melania_ occurring in mass in the uppermost calcareous bed
appears to be a new species[73] whose nearest relation must in any
case be _M. Nysti_ of the Oligocene, not _M. muricata_ of the Eocene,
amongst forms at present known.
_Turritella angulata_, Sow. A marine form, occurring below the
basalt and indubitably this species, as it is well preserved and
easily determined[74]; _T. angulata_ ranges from the Middle Eocene
to the Lower Oligocene of the East and occurs in the Upper Mokattam
of Syria.”
From Widan el Faras the series continues westwards, forming several
escarpments, the uppermost that of Jebel el Qatrani, and maintaining
the same general characters. The tripartite character of the series,
already noticeable between Qasr el Sagha and Widan el Faras (see
foregoing section) becomes still more marked. The lowest division is
very largely composed of fluviatile sands and sandstones, frequently
coarse-grained and usually markedly current-bedded, divided by clays
and containing an abundance of silicified trees and quantities of
vertebrate remains. These soft beds, some 60 metres in thickness,
have as a rule an extensive outcrop, forming an undulating plain
averaging two or three kilometres in width. They are overlaid by
some 17 metres of harder dark red sandstones, which invariably form
a well-marked escarpment capped by a very constant two or three
metres band of hard white or pinkish calcareous grit. This grit
varies in composition, frequently passing into a marl; and one of the
characteristics of this and the underlying red beds is the abundance
of nodular masses of calcite and gypsum. In some localities, as for
instance 3 kilometres W.N.W. of Qasr el Sagha, numerous spherical
nodules of beekitic chalcedony occur in the beds of this division,
and some of these when broken are found to be geodes lined with
beautiful crystals of quartz and calcite.
The next division consists of some 60 metres of alternating sandstones
and clays with occasional thin calcareous bands in the upper part, and
capped by a well-marked hard cherty limestone, frequently passing into
a dense tabular chert or flint. This exceptionally hard band generally
forms a dip-slope plain of some width, before the softer basal members
of the third and highest division overlie it. The siliceous bed caps
many of the most notable hills in the district; among others may be
mentioned the big isolated hill 9 kilometres north-west of Garat el
Esh, and the hills five kilometres N.N.E. of the same point. This
is the only horizon throughout the Eocene succession of the Fayûm
on which an abundance of flint is met with; that it was well known
and exploited in early times is evident from the old pits met with
on the summits of the hills overlooking the main bone-pits, a few
kilometres north of Garat el Esh. As no worked flints were noticed
round the workings it is probable that the material was excavated and
carried away to the borders of the lake, there to be fashioned into
the harpoons, saws and other implements which are so commonly found
scattered at the present day near the margin of the old lake site.
The uppermost division of the Fluvio-marine series consists of over
100 metres of variegated sediments and forms the escarpment of Jebel
el Qatrani itself, capped by the conspicuous band of hard black
basalt, which is itself overlain by a further 20 metres of similar
sediments. The basalt has a thickness of over 20 metres in places,
though its average is considerably less; at the base it is frequently
decomposed, soft, and of a brown colour.
At a point due north of the western end of the Birket el Qurûn the
interbedded basalt sheet terminates, and no further flows were seen as
far as the point up to which the series was mapped, nearly due north
of Gar el Gehannem. As far as could be seen on a traverse through
the Zeuglodon Valley to the south-western limits of the depression
no further basalt flows occur.
Section from the base of the Fluvio-marine series, 2 kilometres north
of Garat el Esh, to the summit of Jebel el Qatrani 5½ kilometres
north of the bone-pits. (See Plates XVIII and XXIV).
Approximate
thickness in
_Summit of plateau._ metres
1. Coarse sandstones and grits 13
2. Basalt 25
3. Yellow sands and sandstones, capped by 3 m. of
hard concretionary grey sandstone with occasional
mammalian bones (underlying basalt in scarp and
capping outlying hill) 15
4. Hard sandstones with clayey bands 8
5. Sandy and clayey beds 5
6. Hard yellow calcareous grit 5
7. Clays and clayey marls 7
8. Sandy beds 15
9. Hard sandstone (forms connecting ridge between ½
hill and escarpment)
10. Clays with thin sandstone bands }
} 40
11. Variable sandy and marly red clays with a hard }
yellowish sandstone band ten metres from base }
_Base of isolated hill._
12. Soft sands with chelonian and crocodilian remains 4
13. Sandy clays with chelonian and mammalian }
(_Arsinoitherium_) bones, capped by coarse grit, }
in part ferruginous silicified grit and quartzite } 1
}
14. White calcareous grit and marly limestone. Band }
of flint in places
_Summit of hill overlooking bone-pits._
14. Sandstone, becoming calcareous and passing up 10
into 3 m. of hard white calcareous grit, and
yellowish white bedded marly limestone with
calcite druses. Capped by ¼ m. hard tabular chert
and flint
15. Finely laminated grey shaly clays, sandy and }
marly clays, capped by 2 m. of mottled yellow and }
red sandstone and sandstone-grit } 10
}
16. Hard red, green, and brown sandstone }
17. Variegated grey, green and red clays, marly clays
and sandy beds, with thin bands of sandstone.
More arenaceous towards top 21
18. Hard grey sandstone; greenish sandy clays; hard
dark red marls and marly clays at top 6
19. Thin band of hard yellow limestone, capping salty
red clays and sandy clays 6
20. Soft greenish clayey sandstone capped by ½ m. of
hard false-bedded concretionary sandstone with
numerous enclosed coprolites 3
_Base of hill overlooking bone-pits._
21. Pink calcareous grit (forming summit of lowest
escarpment), with small flint and quartz pebbles
in some layers. An abundance of calcite and
gypsum 3
22. Mottled red and green clayey sandstone, clays and
clayey marls. Passing up into a hard sandy (or
clayey) dark red marl with greenish mottlings 7
23. Light yellow finely-laminated sandrock passing up
into dark red sandrock. Some clayey bands 10
24. Coarse unconsolidated false-bedded sands, with
occasional bands of clay and consolidated
sandstone bands. Numerous silicified trees and
abundant mammalian and reptilian remains. (See
list in Bed 49 of Widan el Faras section).
Bone-pits are in this bed 40
25. Thin band (½ m.) of hard sandstone with sometimes }
impure calcareous grit }
} 10
26. Hard light yellow sandstone, often very coarse, }
and with red bands }
27. Soft brick red and light yellow sands and
sandstones, (seen on plain and overlying
uppermost limestone of the Middle Eocene) 20
_Base of Fluvio-marine Series._
[Illustration: PLATE XI.
SILICIFIED TREES OF FLUVIO-MARINE SERIES, 4½ KILOMETRES NORTH OF
QASR EL SAGHA.]
In some localities pebbly bands occur in the sandstone-grits,
especially in some of the beds above the basalt: the pebbles are mostly
quartz or flint, subangular or rounded, the layer averaging perhaps two
cm. in diameter, although occasional specimens three or four times that
size are met with. Silicified trees of two distinct types[75] occur,
and they are met with chiefly on two horizons; usually large numbers of
trees occur together, completely covering the surface in places; they
lie as a rule scattered about in every direction, although occasionally
a large proportion may show considerable parallelism of deposition,
as if arranged by the direction of the current which floated them to
the spot. They always occur in a horizontal position or parallel to
the dip of the bed, and it seems quite certain that none of them ever
grew near where they are now found. The trees never bear attached
branches, the latter having always been broken off at or near the
point of junction with the trunk, where the scars are often plainly
seen; this points to the trees having been drifted a considerable
distance. Many trees over 25 metres[76] in length have been met with,
but this by no means represents the original height, as the trunks
have lost considerably in length during transport to their present
localities. Although, as a rule, found completely weathered-out and
exposed on the surface, in numerous localities these silicified trees
are to be observed firmly embedded in the sandstones in which they
were deposited, many being met with in our excavations for bones.
As the Fluvio-marine series is followed westwards from the central
part of the area, the different divisions become more and more
attenuated and the outcrops more and more obscured by superficial
gravel. North-west of the Zeuglodon Valley an escarpment capped by a
conspicuous bed of white calcareous grit occurs and perhaps represents
the lower beds of the series. The higher are lost on the gravelly
undulating plateau above.
_F._—=Age of the “Fluvio-Marine Series”.=
The beds in question being as a whole remarkably unfossiliferous,
a determination of their exact age on palaeontological grounds is
an undertaking of some difficulty. The series, however, in certain
beds is very rich in vertebrate remains; a considerable number of new
and important forms have already been obtained and further additions
are probable. Until the survey of the area in 1898 it appears that
the only fossils obtained from these rocks were a few casts and
badly-preserved specimens of mollusca from the highest beds above
the basalt, collected by one or two observers from localities between
the summit of the Fayûm escarpments and the Pyramids of Giza.
The Rohlfs Expedition did not visit this part of Egypt, and Zittel[77]
tabulated the beds, which he called the “Schichten von Birket el
Qurûn” as doubtfully Oligocene; probably the beds referred to are
those of the island Geziret el Qorn, which, as already mentioned,
belong to the lower division of the Birket el Qurûn series, and are
therefore of Middle Eocene age. Mayer-Eymar[78] states that he was
able to subdivide the series under discussion into Upper and Lower
Ligurian and Lower Tongrian. Schweinfurth[79] considered the series
as Miocene, comparing them with the lithologically similar _Scutella_
beds of Der el Beda to the east of Cairo. Blanckenhorn, on the evidence
of the writer’s fossil collections, states, as already mentioned,
that the upper part is certainly to be regarded as Lower Oligocene
and the lower part as Upper Eocene.
First as to the stratigraphical position of the series. There is no
doubt that the lowest beds of the group were deposited (at any rate
in the central part of the area) in practical continuity with the
Qasr el Sagha series, which, as shown, is certainly of Middle Eocene
age. A great change in the lithology of the beds, however, makes the
junction a perfectly natural one. We pass from a truly marine series
into an estuarine or fluvio-marine set of beds, and such a change
near the summit of the Eocene is not an uncommon one in some parts of
Europe. The stratigraphical position in the field, therefore, favours
an Upper Eocene age for the lower beds. The dip being northwards,
newer and newer beds are met with from south to north on the great
undulating, but more or less level, desert north of the escarpment
summit. The occurrence of Lower Miocene beds at Mogara, some 100
kilometres north or north-west, also points to a somewhat younger,
or Oligocene, age for the underlying beds, (i.e., those between the
Fayûm escarpment and Mogara). The actual relations, however, of the
beds in the two localities have not yet been determined, but it is
probable younger beds are continually met with from south to north.
Until the entire collection of fossils has been examined and
determined, it is somewhat premature to attempt to fix the age
of the series on palaeontological grounds. Up to the present the
foregoing lists show the species which have been provisionally or
finally determined. Some of these appear to be identical with species
which have been recorded from Upper Eocene deposits of Europe, such
as _Potamides scalaroides_, _P. tiarella_, while others, such as
_Melania_ cf. _Nysti_, _Natica crassatina_ (found below the basalt in
the so-called Sandberger Hills north-east of the Fayûm escarpment),
are typically Lower Oligocene. Other forms, such as _Turritella
angulata_, are common to both Eocene and Oligocene elsewhere.
If Blanckenhorn’s determinations of these forms are confirmed, we
may regard the upper beds, i.e., those immediately above the basalt,
as undoubtedly of Lower Oligocene age. The beds below the basalt
mark the transition from the Eocene to Oligocene, while the base of
the series, so far unfossiliferous as far as molluscan remains are
concerned, must be regarded as of Upper Eocene (Bartonian) age.
We may hope that when the important vertebrate fauna occurring chiefly
in the basal part of the series has been thoroughly exploited, and
the remains systematically determined, confirmatory evidence will
be obtained. At present the only forms described and determined,
beyond pointing to a pre-Miocene age, do not indicate any definite
horizon. Probably most of the animals will prove to be new, and
although on that account more interesting from one point of view,
will probably not assist us greatly in the exact determination of
the age of the beds in question.
_G._—=The Position of the Land-mass from which the Mammal Remains
were Derived.=
The existence of remains of land animals throughout the larger part of
the Qasr el Sagha series and in still greater quantity in the basal
beds of the overlying Fluvio-marine series, and occasionally in the
highest beds also, points to the presence of continental land within no
great distance of the area in which these deposits were laid down. That
the animal-remains were carried out from the land by river currents is
almost certain, and although in some cases such currents are known to
persist to great distances from their points of emergence, it seems
probable from the quantity and mode of distribution that the Fayûm
bones were deposited within a moderate distance of land. Moreover,
the silicified trees, by which the bones are so often accompanied,
occur together in very great quantities, and we should imagine that
the individual trees would have been far more scattered if they had
been floated to considerable distances from land. On the other hand
the fact that among the hundreds of trees examined, in no single case
were branches found attached to the trunk, points to the conclusion
that these trees had travelled great distances; probably the branches
were lost during their river journey, from constant jamming together
of a great number in a more or less constricted space, and not after
they had left the river mouth.
The exact position of this land-mass is a highly interesting and
important question. There is no reason to suppose that land of any
extent occurred to the north, except possibly an occasional island,
such as that of the Cretaceous massif of Abu Roash,[80] west of Cairo,
which probably formed an island in the sea at that time; without doubt
the great Eocene sea which covered the area stretched northwards,
and was continuous with that in which the southern European deposits
of this period were laid down. To the west also there was certainly
no land-mass within approximate distances. Eastwards, possibly part of
the Red Sea Hills igneous range may have formed a restricted land-area,
but even this is not probable; in fact, it seems certain that we must
look to the south for the nearest land of any extent. In supposing
the land lay in this direction we are confronted at the outset with
the fact that the Lower Eocene limestones stretch southwards for
several hundred kilometres. In Egypt the Lower Eocene consists of
a great mass of nummulitic limestones, some 400-500 metres thick,
with no intercalated clays or sandstones except at the base, and was
evidently formed in water of considerable depth. The thickness of,
and superficial area covered by, these limestones show that they
were formed in a truly open sea, in contra-distinction to a littoral
area; the nummulitic sea in fact covered an enormous part of Europe,
North Africa and Asia. To the south of this sea lay the African
continent, a land-mass dating possibly from Palæozoic times. Since,
and possibly partly during, the deposition of the Lower and Middle
Eocene formations, a gradual elevation of the land or lowering
of the sea, resulting in a retreat of the latter, took place;
this continually brought the shore-line further northwards until,
during the deposition of the beds of the Qasr el Sagha series of the
Middle Eocene, we may surmise that it was not very far to the south,
though the exact distance is extremely doubtful; while in Upper Eocene
times it was still further north. We may assume therefore that the
Upper Eocene bone-bearing strata of the Fayûm represent sediments
transported by rivers and currents from a fairly adjacent continental
land-mass to the south and laid down as littoral and delta deposits
beyond the margin of the land. That at least one large river emerged
from the land in the neighbourhood of the Fayûm is certain; drainage
was then, as now, from south to north, although not probably confined
to a single channel like the present Nile.
Apart from broader considerations a minute examination of the more
typically fluviatile beds favours the conclusion that the currents
were from the south or south-west. The general dip of the strata,
probably the natural inclination of the sediments at the time of
deposit, is from south to north; the most frequent lamination in the
current-bedded arenaceous deposits is also from south to north. In our
excavations for fossil bones it was noted that of seven tortoise shells
exposed at the same time in different parts of the pit, six lay with
their long axes similarly orientated and were distinctly tilted to the
north-east, or exactly away from the point of the compass from which,
as will presently be shown, the main river probably came. As a rule,
however, the scattered fossil bones and trees in these beds give no
definite clue as to the direction from which they were floated. The
existence of separate accumulations of fluviatile sand at different
horizons, but lying one above the other in the series and along a
north and south line, is of importance as indicating the continued
appearance of a river current from the same quarter.
Blanckenhorn has published[81] diagrams showing what he supposes
to have been the relative areas occupied by land and sea in
Upper Mokattam, Lower Oligocene, Middle Pliocene and Pleistocene
times. Various lines of drainage are shown, the main river, which he
calls the Ur-Nil, being placed some 70 kilometres to the west of the
modern Nile, although closely following the trend of the latter. We
have been unable to ascertain on what evidence Blanckenhorn relies
for assuming rivers in Upper Mokattam and Lower Oligocene times to
have occupied the positions shown on his diagrams; the number and
positions of such rivers must remain more or less problematical. In
this connection however it is interesting to recall[82] the lacustrine
ferruginous grits which were brought to notice by the writer in 1900
as having been deposited in a lake, occupying in post-Middle Eocene
times a shallow depression in that part of the Libyan desert now
occupied by the oasis-depression of Baharia. Similar deposits were
found forming the hills of Gar el Hamra a few kilometres east of the
extreme north end of the depression. Finally, during a traverse through
the unexplored country south-west of Gar el Gehannem in the winter of
1902-1903, hills capped with dark hard ferruginous silicified grits
and puddingstone were met with in the extreme south-west of the Fayûm
depression at a point nearly midway, and in the direct line, between
the hills of Gar el Hamra and the chief bone-bearing localities in the
north of the Fayûm. The deposits in question—at Baharia, at Gar el
Hamra and in the hills to the south-west of the Fayûm—are evidently
of lacustrine and fluviatile origin; and we may infer, with some
degree of probability, that they were laid down along the course of a
river which flowed in a north-easterly direction and formed extensive
delta deposits in what is now the northern part of the Fayûm. That
this river had its origin in the interior of a well-wooded continent
hundreds of miles to the south of Baharia is not to be questioned;
its size, length and exact position must remain matters of doubt,
but of its existence we can be as certain as if in times of flood
we had stood on its banks and watched the passage northwards of its
turbid swollen waters, laden with matted rafts of forest trees and
bearing seawards the carcases of those curious Eocene animals, the
remains of which are so abundant in the Fayûm of to-day.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.—Probable Course of chief river of Upper
Eocene and Oligocene times.]
In the Middle and Upper Eocene beds we first obtain an idea of the
animals which inhabited Africa in Tertiary times, and the collecting
and working out of this fauna will throw much light, not only on our
actual knowledge of the African vertebrata of the Eocene period,
which was practically nil until the discovery of the remains here
described, but also on other wider biological questions, such as the
origin of certain groups of animals, some of which were evolved in
this part of the world.
As recently pointed out by a writer in the Field (No. 2605, Nov. 29,
1902) many years ago the late Prof. Huxley, to account for the
present distribution of the mammalian fauna of Africa and Magadascar,
advanced the theory that in the early part of the Tertiary period
Madagascar was connected with Africa, and Africa with Europe or Asia, a
connection which allowed of the immigration into Africa and Madagascar
of numerous small types of European and Asian mammals. Madagascar
later becoming separated from the mainland, its fauna, undisturbed by
the larger carnivora, was able to develop to its present remarkable
extent. Subsequently to the isolation of Madagascar the ancestors of
the modern fauna were presumed to have invaded the African continent
from the north.
The extinct fauna of the Fayûm, however, shows that in early
Tertiary times Africa already had its own mammalian fauna, which,
besides containing some remarkable large types of somewhat doubtful
position, such as _Arsinoitherium_, _Barytherium_, etc., certainly
in _Mœritherium_ and _Palæomastodon_ included the earliest known
elephants, the forbears of the Mastodon and the modern elephants. There
is little doubt therefore that in Upper Eocene and Oligocene times
these early members of the elephant group ranged northward and
eastwards into Asia and India, and since in the Upper Tertiary deposits
of India and eastern Asia the extinct transitional types between the
mastodons and modern elephants appear to have been found, it is not
unlikely that during the later phases of the evolution of this group
of animals the radiation was back towards Africa, so that the African
elephant may be, as it has usually been regarded, an immigrant from
the Oriental region. Further research among the later deposits of the
Fayûm and the deserts to the north may, however, throw an entirely
new light on the subject and it is somewhat premature to theorise
at present.
[Illustration: PLATE XII.
RAISED BEACH UNCONFORMABLY OVERLYING MIDDLE EOCENE LIMESTONES (BIRKET
EL QURUN SERIES) IN THE DESERT EAST OF SIRSENA.]
In this connection it is interesting to notice the observation of
so eminent a palæontologist as Prof. H. F. Osborn. In two recent
addresses[83] to the New York Academy of Sciences he pertinently
points out his belief that the African continent has been a great
centre of radiation of certain groups of the mammalia, and especially
mentions the Proboscidea as likely to have been evolved in the
Ethiopian region. Our discoveries in the Fayûm and Andrews’s
determinations, made subsequently to these addresses, so completely
confirm this view, at any rate with regard to the elephants, that it
may not be out of place to give here a somewhat lengthy extract of his
“_Theory of Successive Invasions of an African Fauna into Europe_”
(op. cit. pp. 56-58). “In Europe there are in the Upper Eocene two
classes of animals, first those which have their ancestors in the older
rocks; second, the class including certain highly specialized animals
which have no ancestors in the older rocks, among these, perhaps,
are the peculiar flying rodents or _Anomaluridæ_, now confined to
Africa, and secondly the highly specialized even-toed ruminant types
the anoplotheres, xiphodonts and others, the discovery of which in the
gypse near Paris Cuvier has made famous. It is tempting to imagine
that these animals did not evolve in Europe but that they represent
what may be called the first invasion of Europe by African types from
the Ethiopian region.
“It is a curious fact that the African continent as a great
theater of adaptive radiation of Mammalia has not been sufficiently
considered. It is true that it is the dark continent of palæontology
for it has no fossil mammal history; but it by no means follows that
the Mammalia did not enjoy there an extensive evolution.[84]
“Although it is quite probable that this idea has been advanced
before, most writers speak mainly or exclusively of _the invasion
of Africa by European types_. Blanford and Allen, it is true, have
especially dwelt upon the likeness of the Oriental and Ethiopian
fauna, but not in connection with its antecedent cause. This cause
I believe to have been mainly an invasion from south to north,
correlated with the northern extension of Ethiopian climate and
flora during the Middle Tertiary. It is in a less measure due to a
migration from north to south. Let us therefore clearly set forth
the hypothesis of _the Ethiopian region or South Africa as a great
center of independent evolution_ and as the source of successive
northward migrations of animals, some of which ultimately reached
even the extremity of South America, I refer to the Mastodons. This
hypothesis is clearly implied if not stated by Blanford in 1876 in
his paper upon the African element in the fauna of India.
“The first of these migrations we may suppose brought in certain
highly specialized ruminants of the Upper Eocene, the anomalures
or peculiar flying rodents of Africa; with this invasion may have
come the pangolins and ard varks, and possibly certain armadillos,
_Dasypodidæ_, if M. Filhol’s identification of _Necrodasypus_ is
correct. A second invasion of great distinctness may be that which
marks the beginning of the Miocene when the mastodons and dinotheres
first appear in Europe, also the earliest of the antelopes. A
third invasion may be represented in the base of the Pliocene by
the increasing number of antelopes, the great giraffes of the Ægean
plateau and in the upper Pliocene by the hippopotami. With these forms
came the rhinoceroses with no incisor or cutting teeth, similar to the
smaller African rhinoceros, _R. bicornis_. Another recently discovered
African immigrant upon the Island of Samos in the Ægean plateau is
_Pliohyrax_ or _Leptodon_, a very large member of the Hyracoidea,
probably aquatic in its habits, indicating that this order enjoyed
an extensive adaptive radiation in Tertiary times.
“It thus appears that the Proboscidea, Hyracoidea, certain edentata,
the antelopes, the giraffes, the hippopotami, the most specialized
ruminants, and among the rodents, the anomalures, dormice and jerboas,
among monkeys the baboons, may all have enjoyed their original
adaptative radiation in Africa; that they survived after the glacial
period, only in the Oriental or Indo-Malayan region, and that this
accounts for the marked community of fauna between this region and
the Ethiopian as observed by Blanford and Allen.
“Against the prevalent theory of Oriental origin of these animals
are: first, the fact observed by Blanford and Lydekker in the Bugti
Beds (Sind) that the Oligocene or lower Miocene fauna of the Orient is
markedly European in type; second, that if these animals had originated
in Asia some of them would have found their way to North America;
third, the fact that all these animals appear suddenly and without
any known ancestors in older geological formations. These are the
main facts in favor of the Ethiopian migration hypothesis.”
That Professor Osborn’s main contention has already been partly
proved by the Fayûm mammal discoveries is apparent, and how far his
detailed remarks are confirmed will be seen when the new fauna has
been more completely explored and examined.
The following is a list of the new species already obtained:—
----------------------------------+----------------------------------
UPPER EOCENE. | MIDDLE EOCENE.
----------------------------------+----------------------------------
_Mammalia_
Arsinoitherium Zitteli, Beadnell.|Barytherium grave, Andr.
|
„ Andrewsii, Lankester. |Mœritherium Lyonsi., Andr.
|
Palæomastodon Beadnelli, Andrews.| „ gracile, „
|
„ minor, „ | „ sp., „
|
Mœritherium Lyonsi, „ |Eosiren libyca,„
|
„ trigodon, „ |Zeuglodon Osiris, Dames.
|
Megalohyrax eocænus, „ | „ Zitteli, v. Stromer.
|
„ minor, „ | „ Isis, Beadn. (M.S.).
|
Saghatherium antiquum, Andr. and |
Beadn. |
|
„ minus, „ „ |
|
„ magnum, Andr. |
|
Ancodus Gorringei, Andr. and |
Beadn. |
|
Geniohyus mirus, Andr. |
|
„ fayumensis, Andr. |
|
„ major, „ |
|
Phiomia serridens, Andr. and |
Beadn. |
|
Pterodon africanus, Andr. |
|
„ macrognathus, Andr. and |
another much smaller and |
imperfectly known creodont. |
----------------------------------+----------------------------------
_Birds._
Eremopezus libycus, Andr. |
----------------------------------+----------------------------------
_Reptiles._
Testudo Ammon, Andr. |Gigantophis Garstini, Andr.
|
Pelomedusa progaleata, v. |Pterosphenus (Mœriophis)
Reinach. |Schweinfurthi, Andr.
|
Podocnemis fayumensis, Andr. |Psephophorus eocænus, Andr.
|
„ Blanckenhorni, v. Reinach. |Thalassochelys libyca, Andr.
|
„ „ var. ovata, v. Reinach.|Podocnemis antiqua, „
|
Stereogenys libyca. Andr. | „ Stromeri, v. Reinach.
|
Tomistoma sp. | „ „ var. major, v. Reinach.
|
Crocodilus sp. |Stereogenys Cromeri, Andr.
|
| „ podocnemioides, v. Reinach.
|
|Tomistoma africanum, Andr.
----------------------------------+----------------------------------
_Fish._
Occasional fragments of |Propristis Schweinfurthi, Dames.
siluroids and rays. |
----------------------------------+----------------------------------
_H._—=The absence of Miocene deposits in the Fayûm.=
No traces of deposits of this age having been met so far south as
the Fayûm we may presume that in Miocene times the area had become
land, the sea margin having receded northwards. The slight depression
of Mogara, some 100 kilometres further north-west, is however cut
out in Lower Miocene beds, lithologically somewhat similar to the
Upper Eocene and Oligocene deposits of the Fayûm. Probably similar
conditions obtained throughout, and the existence of vertebrate remains
indicates the persistence of river-currents from the south. The fauna
of the Mogara beds has only as yet been very incompletely examined,
the locality being rather inaccessible.[85]
SECTION XII.—PLIOCENE.
We have presumed that in Miocene times the Fayûm remained land, no
traces of deposits of that age having been recorded; possibly the area
underwent considerable denudation during the Miocene and early Pliocene
periods, but of this it is difficult to adduce definite evidence. The
records of Pliocene times in the Fayûm may be classed as follows:—
(J). _Marine deposits_ of Middle Pliocene age.
(K). _Borings_ on rock surfaces, exact age doubtful.
(L). _Gravel Terraces_, probably late Pliocene. } (or early
} Pleistocene).
(M). _Gypseous Deposits_, probably latest Pliocene. }
_J._—=Marine Deposits: Middle Pliocene.=
In Middle Pliocene times the area, which had probably undergone
considerable denudation, was again invaded by the sea, and we find
at Sidmant el Jebel, on the south-east side, definite evidence of
deposits of this age in the shape of sands containing such well known
forms as _Ostrea cucullata_ and _Pecten benedictus_.
The beds in question reach an altitude of from 60 to 70 metres and
were first brought to notice by Schweinfurth. Although they are in
reality on the Nile Valley side of the separating ridge or saddle,
there is little doubt that the same beds will, when looked for, be
found within the Fayûm depression in places where they have been
preserved. As has already been mentioned this south-eastern side of
the Fayûm yet remains to be examined and mapped in detail, and the
determination of the relation of these marine sands to the gravel
terraces shortly to be described is a matter of primary importance
for the proper interpretation of their relative ages.
_K._—=Borings on Rock surfaces; of doubtful age.=
There are within the Fayûm depression numerous rock-surfaces pierced
by borings, apparently the work of marine boring mollusca but naturally
offering no exact evidence as to their age and origin. These borings
are found at two distinct levels, approximately from zero to 20 metres
above sea-level, and at 112 metres above sea-level.
(α) _Low level borings._
Between Tamia and Dimê, near the eastern end of the Birket el Qurûn,
the lowest ground, consisting of poor sandy land with tamarisk scrub,
bordering the lake and cultivation, is bounded by a low escarpment
of beds of the Birket el Qurûn series. Along certain horizons one
or more beds of calcareous sandstone weather into large globular
masses, which as already pointed out are in reality huge concretions,
but which may have been further rounded by water-action. The chief
point is, however, the fact that these blocks are honey-combed in the
most remarkable way by beautiful examples of borings; their presence
was first noticed by Schweinfurth. The globular masses of sandstone,
often several feet in diameter, are worn on the surface into a number
of parallel ledges, each of which is perforated with countless numbers
of vertical holes, averaging 10 millimetres in diameter (maximum 15
millimetres), placed at right angles to the ledges; these holes are
not, as a rule, connected from one ledge to another. They occur in
every stage of perfection, from hollows as small as the finger tips
and only a few millimetres deep, to long completed chambers which
generally show considerable tapering, and are often placed so close
together that the dividing wall is pierced.
Fig. 7 and Plate XIII show the appearance of these bored rocks.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.—Block of sandstone pierced by numerous
borings.]
At El Kenîsa, a promontory jutting out into the lake, sandstones
showing shell-borings occur at a height of 14 metres above
sea-level. Between Dimê and the lake a calcareous sandstone contains
many borings, 66 metres above the lake-level, or about 22 metres
above sea-level.
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
BORINGS IN FALSE-BEDDED SANDSTONE, TWO KILOMETRES SOUTH OF DIMÊ.]
(β) _High level borings._
Further west, but at a considerably higher level, borings are again
met with. In this case a hard compact limestone, forming a dip-slope
surface on the top of the lower cliff of the Qasr el Sagha series,
was found pierced with borings, similar in character to those of the
lower level. The exact locality where these high level borings were
observed is 14 kilometres west of the western end of the lake and 16
kilometres north-east of the eastern extremity of Gar el Gehannem. The
height was determined as 156 metres above the Birket el Qurûn,
or 112 metres above sea-level, and we have every reason to believe
these figures to be approximately correct. Up to the present time
borings at this altitude have not been met with in any other locality.
At first sight it seems surprising that the occurrences should be so
limited, but it should be remembered that only in those cases where
borings were made in the very hardest and most durable rocks could
they have been preserved to the present time. Considering the amount
of denudation which has taken place in the area since the Pliocene
period it is surprising that any of the rocks which formed the actual
surface of the country at that date should still be preserved; and
in all probability the comparatively few records that exist to-day
owe their preservation to the protection afforded by superficial
deposits. Under the present rigorous desert conditions, when the whole
surface is subjected to continual and rapid changes of temperature,
and every exposed rock is being worn down by the natural sandblast,
it must be admitted that in a comparatively short time every trace
of the borings now exposed will have been removed. At the same time
the denudation of superficial deposits will probably lay bare other
bored rock-surfaces, and the conserving nature of drift sand itself
where accumulated to even a limited degree must not be forgotten.
_L._—=Gravel Terraces: ? Upper Pliocene.=
On the north, east, and south-east sides of the Fayûm, well marked
terraces of gravel are found at certain levels up to a maximum of
about 170-180 metres above sea-level. Nine kilometres east of Sêla
the summit of the ridge separating the Fayûm and the Nile Valley is
formed of thick deposits of gravel, laid irregularly and unconformably
on the top of limestones belonging to the Birket el Qurûn series. The
lowest terrace occurs only 15 metres above the canal[86] running
along the outside of the cultivation. The main deposit of gravel is
laid on the top of the limestones and marls at 70 metres above the
canal; it is some 50 metres thick (summit 120 metres above canal)
and consists of a mass of well-rolled flint and quartz pebbles, with
blocks of limestone (frequently full of well-known Eocene fossils
such as _Carolia placunoides_). Large well rounded blocks of grey
quartzite and pebbles of black quartzite also occur, besides rounded
blocks of silicified wood. A certain amount of false-bedding occurs
and false-bedded sand was noticed in places. Numerous derived rolled
fossils are present, but no contemporaneous remains were found. On
the summit of the ridge is situated the remnant of an old pyramid-like
building.
Fig. 8 shows the relation of these gravels to the underlying rocks.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.—_Sketch showing relations of Middle Eocene
to Pliocene Gravel Terraces on the east side of the Fayûm._
_Birket el Qurun series._—(_a_) Clays, marls and limestone;
(_b_) Limestones with _Operculina_ (_O. discoidea?_). Pliocene
(to Pleistocene); (_c_) Coarse deposits of gravel, etc., with huge
blocks of derived Eocene limestone with _Carolia_, etc.; (_d_) sands
and sandrock with leaves of hard sandstone; (_e_) sand, gravel and
conglomerate.]
At the spur of the cliff immediately to the east the terrace is
laid on to limestones of the Birket el Qurûn series at a height of
32 metres above the canal. Enormous blocks of _Carolia_-limestone,
some exceeding 3 × 2 × 1·5 metres in measurement, are included in
this deposit; such blocks cannot have been transported far, and were
doubtless derived from formerly-existing higher beds in the immediate
neighbourhood. The matrix of the deposit is usually crushed limestone
with sand and gravel. Occasional fragments of silicified wood (and
further west large logs), evidently derived from the Fluvio-marine
beds, also occur.
In favoured localities the relation of the gravels to the Eocene is
still better seen; the lower beds of the terrace here are sometimes
formed of sands and sandy beds dipping 10° eastward.
At the little promontory 9 kilometres east of Sersena the same deposits
reach an altitude of 157 metres above the canal below.
Further north another cake of gravel caps the summit, attaining
here 60-70 metres above the canal-level. Probably these deposits
were originally more or less connected and continuous, but since
their deposition denudation must have removed the greater part, as
they are now only found here and there capping the highest points
of the escarpment along the east side of the Fayûm. Such isolated
gravel-capped hills occur notably 12 kilometres east of Roda, 16½
kilometres east and 17½ kilometres north-east of Tamia.
Along the north side of the Fayûm the same deposits are found,
in some cases covering large areas.
Twenty-five kilometres N.N.E. of Tamia the Eocene beds, here an
alternating series of clays and limestones, are capped by a deposit
consisting of coarse rolled gravel, with blocks of silicified wood
enclosed in a sandy gypseous base, some 10 metres thick. A larger
and similar deposit caps the next high ground four kilometres to the
west, and about 9 kilometres N.N.E. of Garat el Faras; in this case
it forms a round-topped gravelly hill-range, attaining a height of
about 165 metres above the canal to the south-east. The loose gravel
at many points passes into hard conglomerate, notably in the hills
9 kilometres east and 4 kilometres north-east of Garat el Gindi. At
the former spot the conglomerate is composed of blocks of limestone,
with round pebbles of flint and quartz, sandstone and quartzite,
and fragments of silicified wood, cemented by sand and calcareous
material. Blocks of silicified wood also occur strewn on the surface
of these gravel deposits.
In the hills north-east of Garat el Gindi the gravel deposits do not
occupy the summit of the escarpment but occur laid on to a platform of
beds belonging to the Qasr el Sagha series. Behind, another escarpment,
that of the Fluvio-marine series, rises to the plateau summit.
Fig. 9 will show the general relation of the different formations in
this part of the district.
Near Elwat Hialla the deposits contain numerous blocks of basalt
in addition to the usual constituents. The basalt is derived from
the sheets interbedded at the base of the Oligocene a little to the
north. As these gravels are here close to that formation, blocks of
sandstone, basalt, and silicified wood now form a large proportion
of the constituents.
Along the north side of the Fayûm depression, to the west of Elwat
Hialla, the gravel terraces are almost absent, having been removed
nearly completely by denudation. That the terraces once existed
throughout this region is however shown by the small patches met with
to the north-east of Widan el Faras, the eastern extremity of Jebel
el Qatrani, and at several points high up on the escarpments as far
west as the western end of the lake. Beyond the latter point these
terrace gravels have not been noticed; the slopes of the depression
become more and more obscured by loose superficial flints washed down
from the plateau, and the existence of underlying terrace gravels
could only be shown by detailed mapping.
[Illustration:
PLIOCENE (TO PLEISTOCENE) —1. Terrace of gravel and conglomerate.
UPPER EOCENE-OLIGOCENE —2. Sands and sandstones.
MIDDLE EOCENE —3. Clays, marls and limestones of the
Upper Mokattam.
FIG. 9.—Sketch-Section through summit of Fayûm Escarpment at
Elwat Hialla.]
Near Widan el Faras the terrace occurs at a level of about 220
metres above the Birket el Qurûn, or 175 metres above sea-level,
and consists of a 10-metre thickness of a semi-consolidated mass of
boulders and pebbles of sandstone, limestone, and basalt, with fine
gravel and sand, unconformably laid on to the variegated sandstones
of the Fluvio-marine series.
In the neighbourhood of the Survey’s main excavations for fossil
bones, to the north of Garat el Esh, several local remnants of the
formerly more or less continuous gravel terrace were detected[87]. The
height was probably more accurately determined here than elsewhere
and the upper limit of the deposits was found to lie at approximately
170 metres above sea-level; this figure may indeed be taken as the
average height of the Pliocene terraces throughout the Fayûm.
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
PLEISTOCENE LACUSTRINE CLAYS WITH TAMARISK STUMPS IN SITU AT 50 METRES
ABOVE PRESENT SURFACE OF THE BIRKET EL QURUN.]
Briefly then we have shown the existence of the well marked remains
of a gravel terrace 170-180 metres above sea-level, throughout the
south-east, east, and north sides of the Fayûm depression, and the
first question that suggests itself with regard to these deposits
is, whether they are of marine or of freshwater origin? From their
position in part capping and in part perched on the flanks of the
escarpments, it is evident that the depression of the Fayûm must
have been partly formed before their deposition; probably it had
approximately obtained to its present form and dimensions, except as
to depth. The terrace certainly marks the shoreline of the sheet of
water in which its constituents were deposited, and the surface of this
water must have attained a height of nearly 200 metres above present
sea-level. It is not unlikely that some of the extensive plains of the
Fayûm may owe their existence in part to the presence in Pliocene
times of the sea or of a large inland lake, that they may in fact
be plains of denudation. The plain above the escarpment of the Qasr
el Sagha series, lying between 150 and 200 metres above sea-level,
and stretching throughout a large part of the north of the Fayûm,
has characters which tend to support this idea.
Unfortunately the gravels are entirely barren of contemporaneous
organic remains, with one exception; near Ez. Qalamsha some examples
of _Ostrea cucullata_ were discovered, and these we believe to
have truly belonged to the lower beds of the terraces and not to
have been derived from the undoubted marine Middle Pliocene beds
of Sidmant. If the existence of _O. cucullata_ in these terraces
could be confirmed we should undoubtedly class them as marine and of
Middle Pliocene age. But the single evidence of the Qalamsha shells
is not sufficient, and confirmatory occurrences must be obtained and,
if possible, the relation of the terraces to Schweinfurth’s marine
Sidmant beds determined, which has not been yet done.
_M._—=Gypseous deposits, probably dating from the close of the
Pliocene Period.=
Of distinctly later date than the gravel-terraces are the widely
distributed gypseous deposits of the Fayûm and Nile Valley. These
deposits are found covering the plain which separates the Nile Valley
cultivation from the Fayûm depression, gradually rising from the
level of the former until they overlie the gravels capping the summit
overlooking the Fayûm (Section XXI).
Near the Pyramid of Medum the following beds are seen at the edge of
the desert plain:—
_Top._ Metres.
Pure, gravelly, or marly gypsum 1-2
Clayey shales with gypsum and salt 1-1½
White marly limestone with much salt } probable {
and fish-remains (fish-scales, etc.) } part of { 2
} Ravine beds. {
Yellow sandstone with fish-scales, etc. } { 3
The gravel deposits along the east side of the Fayûm are always capped
by a gypseous bed. The latter is often 2 metres thick and frequently
occurs as solid and almost pure white crystalline gypsum; sometimes
it is calcareous and is frequently deposited in a tufaceous manner,
especially resembling a tufa on the weathered surface. At other times
it passes into a yellowish compact mass and may be very saliferous.
Frequently the deposit is full of rounded pebbles, the latter
being often in the greater proportion and forming a sort of
gypsum-cemented conglomerate. Not unfrequently it is impossible to
draw any divisional line between the terrace gravels and the gypseous
gravels above. Probably they are both closely connected and of Upper
Pliocene age.
_N._—=Summary of the Pliocene Period.=
From the above descriptions it is probable that the Pliocene period
is represented in the Fayûm by the following:—
(1) Marine beds of Sidmant, undoubtedly of Middle Pliocene age and
reaching a level of from 60 to 70 metres above present sea-level.
(2) Borings on exposed rock-surfaces at two distinct levels, the
lower 0-20 metres, the higher some 112 metres, above sea-level. These
borings appear to be the work of marine boring mollusca, and although
those on the lower level may perhaps be of Middle Pliocene age with
the Sidmant beds, the similar examples discovered at a much higher
altitude (112 metres), point to the sea having attained a much higher
level in later, perhaps Upper Pliocene, times.
(3) An extensive beach or terrace of gravel on the south-east, east,
and north sides of the Fayûm, attaining a maximum level of about
170 to 180 metres above sea-level.
All the known facts seem to be satisfied if we imagine that in
the Middle Pliocene the sea occupied the area, depression probably
continuing until the 112 metre level with the highest borings was
reached. Perhaps the lowest part of the terraces was formed during
this time. In the later Pliocene times we may infer that the area
was occupied, up to 180 metres above present sea-level, by a vast
inland lake, perhaps of brackish water, connected with the sea on
the one hand and the fiord or lakes of the Nile Valley on the other,
the deposits of which have been described elsewhere[88].
Along the margins of this gigantic lake, these great accumulations
of gravel might well have been formed, chiefly of material derived
from the immediate shores, augmented perhaps by a certain amount of
sediment brought by river-currents from the south.
Finally, from the way in which the gypsum and gypseous deposits are
laid on the terrace gravels, and from their extension and thickness,
we may presume that they were deposited on the bottom of just such
a lake on evaporation of its water, when the sulphate of lime in
solution, becoming more and more concentrated, may have been finally
precipitated.[89]
SECTION XIII.—PLEISTOCENE.
The course of events in Pleistocene times is at present obscure. As
far as can be judged it was during this period that a freshwater
lake, the precursor of the great Mœris, came into existence. It
might be thought that the early Pleistocene prehistoric lake was a
relic of the still older body of water of Pliocene times, in which
the gravel terraces and gypseous deposits were laid down. But such
a remnant would have been of a high degree of salinity and could not
have given rise to the fresh water Mœris. Most probably at the close
of the Pliocene period, after the formation of the gypseous deposits,
the area became elevated and cut off from the sea and from the Nile
Valley marine fiord; probably an extensive body of water remained as
an isolated lake, but this, cut off from external supply, would have
gradually evaporated, its salt being left as a superficial deposit on
the dried up bed. In early Pleistocene times we may presume the area
became dry and was gradually eroded to its present shape and depth. The
superficial deposits of salt and gypsum were for the most part removed
as the depression was deepened, while the continuous terrace of gravel
laid round the greater part of the rim was broken through, except
where protected in favourable localities, the constituents being
washed down and spread out over the lower ground. In course of time
the region was moulded to its present form and dimensions, or rather to
what it would be if the local alluvial deposits were stripped off and
the water of the lake baled out. The area was an inland depression,
probably sparsely vegetated like the rest of the higher country and
separated from the Nile Valley by a low rocky ridge surmounted by a
more of less continuous terrace of gravel of considerable height and
thickness. In our opinion desert conditions had already set in before
the early Nile broke down the ridge and formed a lake in the Fayûm;
the date when this important event first took place is a matter of
considerable doubt, as has already been mentioned (pp. 24, 25). We
know that at the close of the Pliocene period the Nile Valley was
a marine fiord (connected with the Fayûm and the Mediterranean)
which was replaced in Pleistocene times, probably in consequence of
slight elevation, by a series of fresh water lakes throughout the
valley. These lakes were probably two or three in number and drained
one into the other; the exact position of the barriers is as yet a
matter of conjecture. Within these lakes thick lacustrine deposits
were accumulated, so that the basins eventually became to a great
extent silted up. In later Pleistocene times drainage down the Nile
Valley appears to have become more pronounced, the barriers between
the lakes were broken down and the river cut for itself a channel
through the lacustrine beds, filling up the old lake basins. From
this time onwards to early prehistoric times the bed of the river
would appear to have steadily fallen, as it eroded its channel deeper
and deeper. That this early Nile was a river of considerable size is
evident from the amount of erosion it accomplished in the trough of the
valley, whence the older lacustrine beds have been almost completely
removed. Probably in the lower part of its course it swept against
the base of the dividing ridge between the Nile Valley and the Fayûm
depression. If, as we imagine, the river was at that time flowing
some 20 metres higher than at present its currents would have met
with little resistance from the loosely cemented terrace of gravel
which formed the upper part of the dividing ridge. Once this was
broken down the waters must have poured into the depression behind,
until a lake of considerable size was formed. The sediment spread out
over the floor in the shape of a fan, while at the same time deposits
of sands and fine clays, blown and washed into the waters from the
surrounding shores, were being slowly accumulated in the quieter and
more remote parts of the lake.
For some time subsequent to the first connection between the Fayûm
depression and the Nile, the latter continued to fall in level owing to
continued erosion along its course, possibly the Fayûm again became
completely isolated for a time. Subsequently in the earliest historic
times under changed conditions the river commenced to carry and lay
down the modern alluvial deposit of “Nile mud”, and from this time
to the present day its bed has gradually risen. This is shown by the
high Nile flood-readings on the early gauges of the Nile Valley; the
nilometer at Roda shows a difference of 1·22 metres in 1026 years, or
an annual rise of 0·12 centimetre, which is equivalent to 12 metres
in 10,000 years[90]. Whether there was ever complete disconnection
between the Nile and the originally formed lake in Pleistocene times
is uncertain, but even so it was probably only during a comparatively
short period: in early historic times the rise of the Nile bed must
have brought about a reconnection.
The geological evidence for the existence of a great freshwater lake
in Pleistocene and prehistoric times is afforded by the well-marked
lacustrine clays and sands which are found over such a large area of
the northern and western deserts of the Fayûm; the great extent of
this lake will be seen by an examination of the accompanying maps. Its
area must have been about 2250 square kilometres or about ten times
the size of the modern Birket el Qurûn. The western limit may even
have been further west than shown on fig. 10.,[91] as some of the
desert in the neighbourhood of Gar el Gehannem is very low-lying;
or there may have existed subsidiary lakes in that direction. The
upper limit of these ancient lacustrine clays is between 22 and 23
metres above sea-level, which exactly agrees with the figure adduced
by Sir Hanbury Brown as the height of the more modern Lake Moeris
from the evidence of levels. That Lake Moeris was simply the older
prehistoric lake placed under artificial control admits of no doubt;
the difficult question being as to when the lake first came into
existence in prehistoric times.
The clays abound in freshwater shells and semi-fossil fish-bones of
exactly the same species of fish (siluroid, etc) as still inhabit the
Birket el Qurûn; probably some are even hardly different specifically
from the Middle Eocene forms of the district. In addition remains
of large animals are common, and include _Hippopotamus_, _Elephas_,
_Bubalis_, sheep or goat, and _Canis_, with crocodiles and turtles,
etc.[92]
[Illustration: PLATE XV.
ISOLATED SAND-DUNE NEAR GAR EL GEHANNEM.]
Martens[93] has described the following species of mollusca from
Schweinfurth’s collections:—
_Unio abyssinicus_, Mart.
_U. Schweinfurthi_, Mart.
_Corbicula fluminalis_, var. _consobrina_ Caill.
_Neritina nilotica_, Reev.
_Valvata nilotica_, Jick.
_Cleopatra pirothi_, Jick.
_C. pirothi_, var., _unicarinata_, Mart.
_Bithynia_ aff. _Boissieri_, Charp.
_Melania tuberculata_, Müll.
_Limnaea natalensis_, Krauss.
_L. mœris_, Mart.
_L. palustris_, Müll.
_Planorbis subangulata_, Phil.
Blanckenhorn has pointed out[94] that this fauna is of special
interest and differs from all fossil and living faunas in Egypt. It
might be compared with the _Melanopsis_-fauna of the Nile Valley if the
exceptional _Limnaea_ were replaced by _Melanopsis_ or _Paludina_. Its
_Unio Schweinfurthi_ recalls the youngest alluvial deposits of the
Nile Valley, 2nd Cataract, Kom Ombo and Silsila; at these places,
however, the beds containing the species in question are at least 20
metres above mean water level of the present day.
The sub-fossil fauna of the Fayûm alluvium, in addition to those forms
everywhere met with in the Nile Valley, includes _Neritina nilotica_
and _Melania tuberculata_, which are common forms of the _Melanopsis_
stage, as well as _Unio abyssinicus_ and _Valvata nilotica_. In
common with the present fauna of the Birket el Qurûn it has the five
forms belonging to the genera _Corbicula_, _Neritina_, _Valvata_,
_Melania_, and _Planorbis_. The sub-fossil fauna, which passes into
the modern fauna of the Birket el Qurûn, shows connection with the
Mediterranean and Blue Nile, but has a total absence of White Nile
forms such as _Ampullaria_, _Lanistes_, _Cleopatra bulimoides_,
_Spatha_ and _Aetheria_. Moreover _Limnæa palustris_, although
identical with the form found on other Mediterranean coasts, is as
yet entirely unknown from the Nile Valley. Blanckenhorn concludes that
the diluvial subfossil deposits of the Fayûm were produced when the
climate of Egypt was damper and more Europæan, the Nile carrying
more arenaceous sediment in place of the mud of to-day and running
at higher level, as it did when the shells of _Unio Schweinfurthi_
were enclosed in the deposits of Jebel Silsila. Blanckenhorn thinks
the Nile obtained access to the depression during the last European
ice period. This last supposition, coupled with the above comparison
of the Fayûm fresh-water fauna with the Melanopsis stage of the Nile
Valley Pleistocene series, shows that in regarding the early Fayûm
lake as dating from prehistoric times Blanckenhorn and the writer
are in agreement.
SECTION XIV.—RECENT.
We may divide the Recent period into two epochs, Prehistoric and
Historic, always remembering that the line of demarcation is not much
more distinct than that between Recent and Pleistocene.
_O._—=Prehistoric.=
The abundance of worked flints on the desert just within and around the
site occupied by the Fayûm lake in late Pleistocene and prehistoric
times, shows that the shores were eventually inhabited by people
who made and used these primitive tools. That the edge of the lake
was abundantly wooded is shown by the thousands of well preserved
tamarisk stumps met with at the present day in situ (Plate XIV)
in the clays throughout the former margin of the lake.
The implements occur chiefly along the margin of the highest level
of the old lake, and have probably in many cases been buried in the
lake clays until the present time, which would account for their
beautiful state of preservation. We have not, however, yet actually
detected them enclosed within the clays, although commonly found lying
on the clean wind-worn surface. From the fine degree of workmanship
we may undoubtedly refer these flint implements to the Neolithic or
later stone-age, although the exact date is doubtful. That they were
made and used while the lake still stood at its highest level seems
certain, but as we have shown above, the lake, as a sheet of water
up to 23 metres above sea-level or thereabouts, probably existed far
anterior to the Egyptian historic period. They might, on the other
hand, as far as the evidence from the position of the lake goes,
have been used by the inhabitants of the lake-margin down to the
great reclamation which took place in Ptolemaic times. As it seems
impossible to date them by comparison with flints of known age from
any Egyptian period, we may perhaps conclude that they are at least
of older date than the earliest Egyptian records.[95]
_P._—=Historic.=
In historical times, under conditions almost identical with those of
the Nile of to-day, there would have been an annual inflow during
the flood and outflow back to the Nile when the latter subsided;
during the inflow a constant supply of Nile mud was brought into the
lake and deposited on the surface of the earlier alluvium, continually
augmenting the thickness of the latter and raising its surface, until
in the central area marshy land began to appear. In the XII Dynasty
this natural backwater of the Nile, which acted as a more or less
efficient regulator of high and low floods, was brought under human
control by Amenemhat I, and a considerable area of land reclaimed from
the shallowest part of the lake, or that part of the country now lying
near Edwa, Medinet el Fayûm, etc. The new artificially controlled
lake was called Moeris, and its wonders are mentioned by Herodotus,
Diodorus Siculus, Strabo and Pliny.
The actual position of Lake Moeris has been the subject of much
discussion, the late Linant de Bellefonds[96] having asserted that
it was a high-level lake, quite distinct from the Birket el Qurûn,
occupying the gap in the hills by which the Bahr Yusef enters the
Fayûm, its encircling bank commencing at Edwa and passing through
Biahmu, Medinet, etc. Sir Hanbury Brown has,[97] however, completely
demolished Linant’s theory, which is shown to be absolutely
untenable; and has proved conclusively that the ancient Mœris
occupied the greater part of what is now the cultivated land, as
well as the area covered by the present lake and a considerable part
of the surrounding desert, the reclaimed land being in fact part of
the very district Linant supposed the lake to have occupied. Since
the publication of Brown’s work complete corroborative evidence
has been forthcoming from two distinct sources, one archæological,
the other geological. The latter has already been mentioned.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.—Sketch Map showing approximately the site
of Lake Moeris.]
It was clear from the map of Claudius Ptolemy that the route through
the Fayûm to the Oasis Parva left Bacchias near the north end of the
lake, and passing between Arsinœ and Lake Mœris, reached Dionysias
near the other end. The archæological researches of Messrs. Grenfell
and Hunt[98] have shown that Bacchias occupied the site of the
modern Um el Atl close to one end of the Birket el Qurûn, while
Dionysias was probably in the neighbourhood of Qasr el Banat or Qasr
el Qurûn. Thus the Ptolemaic Lake Mœris was almost identical with
the modern Birket el Qurûn. Neither did the sites excavated yield a
trace of anything older than the third century B.C. Theadelphia and
Philoteris were founded in the reign of the second Ptolemy, when a
great reclamation of the land from the lake took place, and probably
Euhemeria, Dionysias, Karanis and Bacchias date from the same reign.
The archæological evidence is thus briefly summed up by Grenfell and
Hunt: “Originally the lake filled the whole basin of the Fayûm,
the first reclamation being carried out by Amenemhat I, who built the
great dam at El Lahûn, where the Bahr Yusef enters the province,
and recovered the high ground near the entrance as far as Biahmu,
and a point between Abshawai and Agamiin. This remained the Pharaonic
province until the time of Herodotus, when the water still came up
to the colossi at Biahmu. Subsequently all the land now cultivated
below the level of the Pharaonic province was reclaimed, chiefly in
the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, when Lake Mœris was reduced nearly
to the size of its modern representative, the Birket el Qurûn”.
[Sidenote: Present day Fauna of the Birket el Qurûn.]
As mentioned above, the Pleistocene fauna of the Fayûm differs in one
or two particulars from the fauna of the present day. The commonest
living molluscan forms include the following:—
_Corbicula fluminalis_.
_Neritina nilotica_.
_Cleopatra bulimoides_.
_Hydrobia stagnalis_.
_Valvata nilotica_.
_Melania tuberculata_.
_Planorbis Ehrenbergi_.
_P. marginatus_ var. _subangulata_.
Blanckenhorn[99] has pointed out that in this fauna _Hydrobia
stagnalis_, as a typical brackish water form is of special
interest. The species appears to have established itself in the Birket
el Qurûn in modern times, as it has not been found in the youngest
alluvium of the lake, nor is it known in the modern Nile fauna.
[Sidenote: Modern Deposits: Blown Sand and Erosion.]
Except for the gradual accumulation of silt over the bed of the
Birket el Qurûn—sand and clay carried in by the wind and the fine
sediment borne by the feeder canals—the only modern deposits of any
importance are those of blown sand. The extensive arenaceous deposits
of younger Tertiary age, forming the greater part of the continent
from the latitude of the Fayûm to the Mediterranean shores, yield as
a result of the action of denudation a constant and abundant supply
of the raw material. The sand carried southwards by the prevailing
winds accumulates as dunes in the lowest parts of the depressions,
on the slopes of cliffs, and in all the less exposed localities. Wind
swept areas remain free or are only gradually encroached on by slowly
growing linear dunes originating in the wind-shadow of some protecting
hill or ridge. An unique example of such a dune is to be seen at the
south end of the well-marked ridge a few kilometres east of Gar el
Gehannem (Plate XV).
The main accumulations of blown sand are in the southern part of the
Fayûm; large areas of the floors of Wadis Rayan and Moêla are covered
with dunes, while in their immediate neighbourhood the material has
accumulated to such an extent as to blot out entire cliffs and valleys;
immediately to the west of Gharaq a considerable area is covered with
small but steep dunes; and finally must be mentioned the great linear
belt of sand, known as the Ghart el Khanashat, which starting from a
point about midway between the Wadi Natrûn and Mogara comes to an
abrupt termination some 24 kilometres before gaining the northern
escarpment of the Fayûm depression (see page 23).
As might be expected in an area like the Fayûm, where sedimentary
rocks of every type are met with, and where the wind never wants for
a sufficient supply of the necessary sand, superficial erosion is
everywhere well marked. We do not propose to study here the action of
wind-borne sand and it will be sufficient to mention two localities
where the effects are best seen; one is in the neighbourhood of Garat
el Esh, where the most remarkable scoring and grooving is to be seen
on the two beds of limestone capping the upper and lower cliffs of
the Middle Eocene; the other is the Zeuglodon Valley, and here the
sculpturing of the sandstone of the Birket el Qurûn series is of
the finest and most unique description.
[Illustration: PLATE XVI.
THE BIRKET EL QURUN NEAR THE WESTERN END.]
* * * * *
[Footnote 33: BEADNELL, _The Fayûm Depression; a Preliminary Notice
of the Geology of a district in Egypt containing a new Palæogene
Vertebrate Fauna_. Geol. Mag. Dec. IV, Vol. VIII, No. 450, Dec. 1901,
pp. 540-546.]
[Footnote 34: ANDREWS, _Fossil Mammalia from Egypt_, Geol. Mag. 1899,
No. 425, pp. 481, 482; and BLANCKENHORN, _Neues zur Geologie und
Paleontologie Ægyptens_, III, “Das Miocän,” Zeitschr. d. Deutsch.
geol. Gesellschaft. Jahrg. 1901, pp. 98-101.]
[Footnote 35: SCHWEINFURTH, _Reise in das Depressionsgebiet im
Umkreise des Fayum_, Zeitschr., Ges. f. Erdkunde, Berlin, No. 122,
1886, p. 100.]
[Footnote 36: Op. cit. pp. 108-110.]
[Footnote 37: _L’Oasis de Moëleh_, Bull. de l’Institut Égypt.,
Fasc. 3, Ap. 1892.]
[Footnote 38: The following may be mentioned; _Euspatangus_
(_formosus?_ and _Blanckenhorni_), _Schizaster_, _Lobocarcinus_
(? _Paulino Wurtembergicus_), _Nautilus_ sp. etc.]
[Footnote 39: El Haram el Bahrl of Schweinfurth.]
[Footnote 40: Individuals of 60 mm. diameter are not uncommon.]
[Footnote 41: Cape Rayan of Schweinfurth.]
[Footnote 42: BLANCKENHORN, _Neues zur Geologie und Palæntologie
Ægyptens_ (II. Das Palæogen) Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Geolog.
Gesellschaft, Jahrg. 1900, p. 446, has determined this as _T.
tenuistriata_. He refers to these beds as corresponding to the Tafla
of Jebel Mokattam, but I regard them as probably representing a
considerably lower horizon.]
[Footnote 43: The nummulites from the Birket el Qurûn series have
not yet been critically examined. There appear to be several species
present, including _N. Beaumonti_, _N. Sub-Beaumonti_, _N. Fraasi_
and _N. Schweinfurthi_. In the Zeuglodon Valley, 12 kilom. W.S.W. of
Gar el Gehannem, occasional individuals of _N. gizehensis_ occur in
the basal beds. As there appears to be some doubt whether the four
smaller nummulites mentioned above are specifically distinct we shall
not attempt to discriminate too closely in the present report.]
[Footnote 44: SCHWEINFURTH, op. cit. p. 139.]
[Footnote 45: ZITTEL, Palæontographica N.F.X. 3 (XXX) _Die
Versteinerungen der tertiäre Schichten von der westlichen Insel im
Birket el Qurun See_, von Prof. Karl Mayer-Eymar.]
[Footnote 46: It must be mentioned here, however, that more recently
Mayer-Eymar speaks (_Nouvelles Recherches sur le Ligurien et le
Tongrien d’Égypte_, Bull. Inst. Égypt., April, 1894, p. 216)
of the Mokattam beds above Qasr el Sagha, some 100 metres higher in
the series, as Parisian, but does not explain these two conflicting
determinations. It seems quite certain, however, that these island
beds are of Parisian age, and not Bartonian as stated by him.]
[Footnote 47: _Lucina pharaonis_, Bell., (_L. pomum_, May. Eym. not
Dujardin) see Oppenheim, _Zur Kenntnis alttertiärer Faunen in
Ægypten_, Palaeontographica, Bd. XXX, III, p. 124.]
[Footnote 48: DAMES, _Uber eine Tertiäre Wirbelthier Fauna von
der westlichen Insel des Birket el Qurun in Fayum (Ægypten)_,
Sitzungsber. Akad. Wissensch., Berlin, 1883.]
[Footnote 49: _Uber Zeuglodonten aus Ægypten und die Beziehungen der
Archæoceten zu den übrigen Cetacean_, Palæontologische Abhandlungen
von W. Dames und Kayser, I. V. 5, Jena, 1894.]
[Footnote 50: We propose to refer to this species as _Z. Isis_. See
Geol. Mag. No. 479, Dec. V, Vol I, No. V, May 1904, p. 214.]
[Footnote 51: See also, Stromer von Reichenbach, _Zeuglodonten-Reste
aus dem oberen Mitteleocän des Fayum_, Bayer Akad. Wissensch. Bd.
XXXII, 1902, pp. 341-352.]
[Footnote 52: ERNEST VON STROMER. _Zeuglodon-reste aus dem oberen
Mitteleocän des Fayum_, Beiträge zur Paläontologie und Geologie
Osterreich-Ungarns und des Orients. Band XV. Heft II and III, p. 82.
Also _Einiges über Bau und Stellung der Zeuglodonten_, Zeitschr. d.
Deutsch. geolog. Gesellsch. Jahr. 1903.
Compare Fraas _Neue Zeuglodonten aus dem Unteren Mitteleocän vom
Mokattam bei Cairo_, Geol. u. Palæont. Abhand. Neue Folge Band VI
Heft 3. Jena 1904.]
[Footnote 53: As the fossils occurring in these beds had been collected
and described by Schweinfurth, Dames, and Mayer-Eymar, the writer
did not spend further time on the island than was necessary for
correlating the beds with his classification.]
[Footnote 54: Cossmann has recently described some Middle Eocene shells
collected from the same locality, near Dimê, in a publication entitled
_Additions à la Faune Nummulitique d’Égypte_, le Caire, 1901.]
[Footnote 55: _T. pharaonica_, Cossmann. A new species; apparently
this is the form quoted by Blanckenhorn and Mayer-Eymar as
_T. angulata_. According to Cossmann, however, _T. pharaonica_
differs from _T. angulata_ in several particulars, especially in
being more thickset.]
[Footnote 56: Blanckenhorn, thinking that the bed capping the island
of Geziret el Qorn is identical with that forming the plain around
and to the north of Dimê, has, in a section recently published
(_Neues zur Geol. u. Palænt. Ægyptens, IV. Das Pliocän_, etc.,
Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. geol. Gesellsch., Jahrg. 1901, Taf. XIV, fig. 2),
inserted a number of faults letting the beds down continually to the
south. The beds however are not identical, and no faults occur.]
[Footnote 57: This block was far too large to transport by camel,
but it may be feasible to effect its removal to Cairo by cart when
opportunity offers.]
[Footnote 58: SCHWEINFURTH, op. cit. p. 139.]
[Footnote 59: A ruin discovered by Schweinfurth in 1886 and hence
often spoken of as “Schweinfurth’s Temple.” Nothing certain is
known as to its age or former use, but we may infer from its situation
just beyond the limits of the high-level lacustrine clays, that it was
built and inhabited only while Lake Mœris stood at its highest level.]
[Footnote 60: See OPPENHEIM, op. cit. p. 105.]
[Footnote 61: Details of a section of the lower beds of this group
near the end of the lake have already been given on p. 44.]
[Footnote 62: As might be expected, vertebrate remains occur chiefly
in the sandy and clayey beds. Skeletons of marine animals such as
_Zeuglodon_ and _Eosiren_ may, however, be frequently observed embedded
in the hard intercalated limestones. Limestone cranial-casts of these
animals are thus sometimes found, and one of these has already been
figured and described (Elliot Smith, _The Brain of the Archæoceti_,
Proceedings Royal Society, Vol. 71, pp. 322-331. Some most beautifully
formed casts from one of the limestone beds were eventually determined
by Andrews to be casts of the air passages of crocodile skulls.]
[Footnote 63: Schweinfurth appears to have been the first to examine
these beds.]
[Footnote 64: One would imagine that there must have been a
considerable amount of ferruginous matter in the water at the time
of deposition of the Fluvio-marine series, the prevailing colours of
the deposits being red and yellow.]
[Footnote 65: Mayer-Eymar appears to believe the depression of
the Fayûm is the result of the volcanic activity which produced
these basalt flows. He says (op. cit. _Nouvelles recherches, etc._,
p. 218.) “Or, de cette extension extraordinaire du phénomène
volcanique dans l’ouest du grand désert, il est, en premier lieu,
permis de conclure que c’est par suite de son action excavante
qu’a eu lieu l’effondrement rempli de nos jours, en partie par
le lac de Fayum.”
Personally, we cannot see the slightest evidence in support of
this. Where the basalt occurs as a hard band it usually causes steep
cliffs as at Widan el Faras, owing to its protecting the underlying
beds from denudation. To the west, in Jebel el Qatrani, its thickness
and hardness determine the character and steepness of the escarpment
below.]
[Footnote 66: Pebble bands are occasionally met with in the coarser
sandstones of the Fluvio-marine series, and it would seem that from
them are derived the pebbles of quartz and flint which so invariably
strew the desert-surface to the north to beyond the latitude of
Cairo. Those flints on the surface are largely broken up and flaked
by changes of temperature, but show comparatively little shaping by
blown sand; the white quartz pebbles on the other hand, while seldom
or never broken or flaked, are invariably more or less facetted,
frequently into typical “dreikanter” or pyramid-pebbles; below
the surface both varieties are perfectly water-rounded.]
[Footnote 67: Many of the fossils mentioned in this profile were only
discovered after long search, and had to be inserted in the measured
section afterwards. Their position therefore is only approximate,
as individual beds could not always be correlated at the different
points where fossils were collected.]
[Footnote 68: It is not intended to convey the impression that remains
of all these vertebrates were found at the point where the actual
line of section runs. As a matter of fact at that particular point
only _Palæomastodon_ remains were observed, while most of the others
were obtained some distance further west. Remains of _Mœritherium_,
probably identical with _M. Lyonsi_, of the Qasr el Sagha series,
in the shape of a beautifully-preserved and almost complete skull,
associated with _Palæomastodon_ and _Arsinoitherium_ in these same
beds, I only discovered in January 1903, at a point nearly due north of
the western end of the Birket el Qurûn. A preliminary description of
this skull has been published by Andrews, _Further Notes on the Mammals
of the Eocene of Egypt_; Geol. Mag. Dec. V. Vol. I. No III. March 1904,
pp. 109-115.]
[Footnote 69: ANDREWS and BEADNELL, _A preliminary notice of a Land
Tortoise from the Upper Eocene of the Fayûm, Egypt_, P.W.M. report,
Cairo, 1903.]
[Footnote 70: In addition to those described from the Survey and
British Museum collections, some additional species are described
by von Reinach from von Stromer’s collection: _Schildkrötenreste
aus dem ägyptischen Tertiär_; Sonderabdruck aus den Abhandlungen
der Sendeenbergischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft, Band XXIX,
Heft I. Frankfurt 1903.]
[Footnote 71: Op. cit., p. 455-456. Vide Blanckenhorn, _Zur Kentniss
der Süsswasserablag. u. Mollusken Syriens_. Palaeontographica XLIV,
1897, S. 97, t. 8, f. 2.]
[Footnote 72: More recently Blanckenhorn in a paper entitled
_Nachträge zur Kentniss des Palaeogens in Ægypten_, (Centralbl. f.
Mineralogie ch. 1901, No. 9, p. 272) has named this species _Lanistes
bartonianus_ (spelled _bartoninus_ in same paper).]
[Footnote 73: It has 4-5 flat spiral rows, the uppermost of which on
the last whorls is often more strongly developed but not keel-shaped
as in _M. muricata_. There are longitudinal ribs to the number of
8-12 over the whorls; the largest example was 9 millimetres long and
had 8 whorls.]
[Footnote 74: See Note 2, p. 43.]
[Footnote 75: The majority belong to the genus _Nicolia_, but more
rarely specimens, apparently referable to a species of conifer,
are met with.]
[Footnote 76: The largest trunk noticed had a length of 28 metres.]
[Footnote 77: ZITTEL, _Beitr. z. Geol. u. Palaeont. d. Libysch.
Wüste_, I Th. (Palaeontographica, Vol. XXX) p. XCIII.]
[Footnote 78: MAYER-EYMAR, _Quelques mots sur les nouvelles
recherches relatives au Ligurien et au Tongrien d’Egypte_. Bull. de
l’Inst. Egypt. (3) N. 4, 1894. Mayer-Eymar’s division of the lower
beds into _Ligurien inférieur_ and _Ligurien supérieur_ is hardly
convincing, especially as no fossils were found by that observer. The
correlation of strata in widely separate areas by their lithological
similarity is at least open to question, especially with beds of
this type, which can indeed be exactly matched again and again at
many levels in the same vertical succession. His diagnosis of the
beds immediately below the basalt as _Tongrien inférieur_, rests,
however, on firmer grounds, as this basalt sheet can be traced across
the desert to beyond the latitude of Cairo, and is probably everywhere
of approximately the same age.]
[Footnote 79: SCHWEINFURTH, op. cit., _Reise in das Depression Gebiet_,
etc.) p. 41.]
[Footnote 80: BEADNELL, _The Cretaceous Region of Abu Roash, near the
Pyramids of Giza_. Geol. Survey, Egypt, Report 1900, Pt. II. 1902,
p. 44.]
[Footnote 81: _Zur Geologie Aegypten_, Pt. II, p. 458; _Die
Geschichte des Nil-Stroms in der Tertiär und Quartärperiode_, etc.,
Z. d. Ges. f. Erdk. Z. Berlin, 1902, Tafel 10.]
[Footnote 82: BEADNELL, _Découvertes Géologiques Récentes
dans la Vallée du Nil et le Désert Libyen_, Compte rendu. VIIIe
Congr. Géol. Internat. 1900, Paris, 1901, p. [Blank]; also BALL
and BEADNELL, _Baharia Oasis: Its Topography and Geology_; Survey
Depart. P.W.M. report. Cairo. 1903, pp. 61-62.]
[Footnote 83: _Correlations between Tertiary Mammal Horizons of Europe
and America_, Annals N.Y. Acad. Sci., Vol. XIII, No. 1, July 21,
1900, pp. 1-72.]
[Footnote 84: Compare _Afrika als Entstehungszentrum für Säugetiere_,
Stromer, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Geolog. Gesellsch. Jahr 1903. Also
_Betrachtungen über die Geologische geschichte Aethiopiens_,
do. do., 1901.]
[Footnote 85: The locality has been briefly examined by Dr.
Blanckenhorn and more recently by Mr. T. Barron, who was accompanied
by Dr. Andrews; the writer spent a few days collecting in the
neighbourhood in April, 1903.]
[Footnote 86: Approximately 10 metres above sea-level.]
[Footnote 87: It is worth recording here that a single worn specimen
of _Chicoreus anguliferus_, Lam., was found on the desert surface
in the neighbourhood of the bone-pits and at about the level of the
highest gravel terrace. This determination was made by Bullen Newton,
who informs me the species occurs in the marine Pleistocene beach
deposits of the Red Sea.]
[Footnote 88: BEADNELL, _Découvertes Géologiques Récentes
dans la Vallée du Nil et le Désert Libyen_, VIIIe Congrès
Géol. Intern. 1900. Paris 1901, pp. 25-27.]
[Footnote 89: Doubt has recently been thrown by American writers on
the possibility of large or thick deposits of gypsum being formed by
precipitation. See R. S. SHERWIN. _Notes on the theories of origin of
gypsum deposits_, Kansas Acad. Sci. Trans. Vol. 18. 1903, pp. 85-88.]
[Footnote 90: Egyptian Irrigation (1899), p. 32.]
[Footnote 91: The southern limits of the site (broken line) are taken
from the maps of Brown and Willcocks.]
[Footnote 92: The mammalian remains collected from these lacustrine
clays have not yet been systematically examined. Dr. Andrews has
however determined some of the genera present: see, “_Notes on an
Expedition to the Fayum, Egypt_”, Geol. Mag. No. 470 Aug. 1903,
pp. 337-343.]
[Footnote 93: MARTENS _Subfossile Süsswasser-Conchylien aus dem
Fajum_, Sitz. Ber. Gesell. naturforsch. Freunde, Berlin July, 1879,
S. 100 u. Oct. 1886, S. 126.]
[Footnote 94: _Geologie Ægyptens_, pp. 444-446.]
[Footnote 95: For figures and details of these flints see a paper by
the writer, _Neolithic Flint Implements from the Northern Desert of the
Fayûm, Egypt_, Geol. Mag., Dec. IV., Vol. X., pp. 53-59, Febr. 1903.]
[Footnote 96: _Mémoires sur les principaux travaux d’utilité
publique exécutés en Egypte depuis la plus haute antiquité
jusqu’à nos jours_. 1872-1873, Chap. II.]
[Footnote 97: Op. cit. pp. 28-40.]
[Footnote 98: “_The disposition of the Lake Mœris_,” in the
Archæological Report of the Egypt Explor. Fund 1898-1899, Pt. I. D.,
pp. 13-15.]
[Footnote 99: BLANCKENHORN, op. cit. p. 463.]
APPENDIX I.
=PREVIOUS LITERATURE RELATING TO THE FAYUM.=
* * * * *
ANDREWS C. W.—_Extinct Vertebrates from Egypt_. Parts I, II,
Geol. Mag. N.S. Dec. IV. Vol. VIII, Sept. and Oct, 1901.
_Notes on an Expedition to the Fayûm, Egypt, with description
of some new Mammals_, Geol. Mag. N.S. Dec. IV. Vol. X. Aug. 1903.
_Further Notes on the Mammals of the Eocene of Egypt_, (Pts I,
II, III), Geol. Mag. N.S. Dec. V. Vol. I. March, April, May, 1904.
_A note on the occurrence of a Ratite Bird in the Upper Eocene
beds of the Fayûm, Egypt_. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1904, Vol. I.
ANDREWS, C. W. AND BEADNELL, H. J. L.—_A preliminary note
on Some New Mammals from the Upper Eocene of Egypt_, Survey Dept.,
P.W.M., Cairo, 1902.
_A preliminary Notice of a Land Tortoise from the Upper Eocene
of the Fayûm, Egypt_. Survey Dept., P.W.M., Cairo, 1903.
BEADNELL, H. J. L.—_Découvertes Géologiques
Récentes dans la Vallée du Nil et le Désert Libyen_,
VIII. Congr. Géol. Intern. 1900. Paris, 1901.
_The Fayûm Depression; a Preliminary Notice of the Geology
of a district in Egypt containing a new Palaeogene Vertebrate
Fauna_. Geol. Mag. Dec. IV. Vol. VIII No. 450, Dec. 1901.
_A preliminary note on Arsinoitherium Zitteli, Beadn._,
Survey Dept., P.W.M., Cairo, 1902.
_Neolithic Flint Implements from the Northern Desert of the
Fayûm, Egypt_. Geol. Mag. Dec. IV. Vol. X. Febr. 1903.
BLANCKENHORN, M.—_Geologie Ægyptens_ (Pts I-IV)
Zeitsch. Deutsch. Geol. Gesell. Berlin, 1901.
_Neue geologisch-stratigraphische Beobachtungen in Ægypten_,
S.-Ber. d. math.-phys. Classe d. Kgl. bayer. Ac. d. Wiss. Bd.
XXXII, 1902, Heft III, München, 1902.
_Die Geschichte des Nil-Stroms in der Tertiär-
und Quartär periode, sowie des Palaeolithischen Menschen in
Ægypten_. Z. d. Ges. f. Erdk. Z. Berlin, 1902.
_Nachträge zur Kenntniss des Palaeogens in Ægypten_,
Centralb. f. Mineral. No. 9. 1903.
BROWN, SIR HANBURY.—_The Fayûm and Lake Mœris_, London, 1892.
COSSMANN, M.—_Additions a la Faune Nummulitique d’Egypte_,
Cairo, 1901.
DAMES, W.—_Uber eine Tertiäre Wirbelthier Fauna
von der westlichen Insel des Birket-el-Qurûn in Fayûm
(Ægypten)_. Sitzungsber. Akad. Wissensch., Berlin, 1883.
DAMES, W. AND KAYSER.—_Uber Zeuglodonten aus Ægypten
und die Beziehungen der Archæoceten zu den übrigen
Cetacean_. Palaeont. Abhand. I. V. 5, Jena, 1894.
EDITOR GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE.—_A New Egyptian Mammal
(Arsinoitherium) from the Fayûm_. Geol. Mag. N.S., Dec. IV, Vol. X,
Dec. 1903.
ELLIOT SMITH, G.—_The Brain of the Archaeoceti_,
Proc. Roy. Soc. Vol. 71.
FLINDERS PETRIE.—_Hawara, Biahmu and Arsinœ_,
Egypt. Explor. Fund Reports, 1889.
GARSTIN, SIR WILLIAM.—_Report upon the Basin of the Upper Nile_,
Cairo, 1904.
GRENFELL AND HUNT.—_The disposition of the Lake Mœris_,
Archaeol. Rep. Egypt. Exploration Fund. 1898-99. Pt. I. D.
LIERNUR, WESTERN AND SCOTT MONCRIEFF, SIR COLIN.—_Notes on the
Wadi Rayan_, Cairo, 1888.
LINANT DE BELLEFONDS.—_Mémoires sur les travaux publics en
Egypte_, Paris, 1873.
_Mémoires sur les principaux travaux d’utilité publique
exécutés en Egypte depuis la plus haute antiquité jusqu’à nos
jours_, 1872-1873.
LUCAS, A.—_A preliminary Investigation of the Soil and Water
of the Fayûm Province_, Survey Dept., P.W.M., Cairo, 1902.
MARTENS. E. V.—_Subfossile Süsswasser-Conchylien aus dem
Fajum_. Sitz. Ber. Gesell. naturf. Freunde, Berlin, 1879.
MAYER-EYMAR,—_L’oasis de Moëleh_, Bull. de l’Inst. Egypt.,
April, 1892.
_Nouvelles Recherches sur le Ligurien et le Tongrien
d’Egypte_, Bull. de l’Instit. Egypt., April, 1894.
_Die Versteinerungen der tertiären Schichten von der
westlichen Insel im Birket-el-Qurûn See_, Paleontogr. N.F.X., 3,
(XXX).
OPPENHEIM, P.—_Zur Kenntnis alttertiärer Faunen in Aegypten_,
(I). Palaeontographica, Dreif. Band. III, Public Works Ministry
reports, 1889-1904. Abt. Erst. Lief. Stuttgart, 1903.
REINACH, V.—_Schildkrötenreste aus dem ägyptischen Tertiär_.
Sonderabd. aus d. Abhand. d. Senckenb. natur. Gesellsch. XXIX, I.
Frankfurt, 1903.
SCHWEINFURTH, G.—_Reise in das Depressionsgebiet im Umkreise
des Fajûm_, Zeitschr. Ges. F. Erdkunde, Berlin, 1886.
_A note on the Salt in the Wadi Rayan_, Appendix II, Egyptian
Irrigation (Willcocks), London, 1899.
SCOTT MONCRIEFF, SIR COLIN—_Note on the Wadi Raian Project_,
Cairo, 1889.
STROMER, E.—_Zeuglodonten-Reste aus dem oberen Mitteleocän
des Fayûm_, Bayer. Akad. Wissensch., Bd. XXXII, 1902.
_Einiges über Bau und Stellung der Zeuglodonten_,
Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Geolog. Gesellsch. 1903. See also Beiträge
zur Paläont. u. Geol. Osterr.-Ungarins u. des Orients. Band XV.
Heft II and III.
_Afrika als Entstehungszentrum für Säugetiere_,
Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Geolog. Gesellsch. 1903.
WHITEHOUSE, COPE.—_Bull. of the American Geographical Society_,
1882.
WILLCOCKS, SIR WILLIAM.—_Perennial Irrigation and Flood
Protection in Egypt_, P.W.M. Report, Cairo, 1894.
_Egyptian Irrigation_, 2nd Edit. London, 1899.
_The Assuan Reservoir and Lake Mœris_, London, 1904.
ZITTEL, K. V.—_Geologie u. Palaeontologie der Libyschen Wüste_,
Cassel, 1883.
* * * * *
APPENDIX II.
* * * * *
_Paul Oppenheim has recently published[100] a description of a large
collection of Egyptian lamellibranchs; the following is a list of the
species of which examples have been collected in the Fayûm (including
Rayan and Moêla). Figured species are marked by an asterisk._
*Gryphaea pharaonum, Oppenh Lower Mokattam.
*Ostrea (Gryphaea) Whitehousei, May.-Eym. „
*O. „ Edmondstonei, May-Eym. „
*O. „ histris, May.-Eym. „
*Gryphaea (?) arabica, May.-Eym. „
*O. elegans, Desh. Upper (and intermediate)
Mokattam.
*O. Fraasi, May.-Eym. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
*O. Stanleyi, May.-Eym. „ „
*O. Cailliaudi, May.-Eym. Upper Mokattam.
*O. ramosa, May.-Eym. Lower Mokattam.
*O. plicata, Sol. Mokattam Series.
O. paucicostata, Oppenh. Lower Mokattam.
O. Reili, Fraas. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
O. Schweinfurthi, May.-Eym. Upper Mokattam.
O. Sickenbergeri, May.-Eym. „
*O. Hessi, May.-Eym. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
*O. qeruniana, May.-Eym. Mokattam Series.
O. gigantica, Sol. Upper (and intermediate)
Mokattam.
*O. (Alectryonia) Clot-Beyi, Bell. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
*O. ( „ ) Bellardi, May.-Eym. Lower Mokattam.
O. ( „ ) semipectinata, Schafh. „
*O. ( „ ) Mehemeti, May.-Eym. „
Carolia placunoides, Cantraine Lower and Upper Mokattam.
*Pecten moëlehensis, May.-Eym. Lower Mokattam.
*P. Cailliaudi, Oppenh. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
Plicatula pyramidarum, Fraas Upper Mokattam.
P. Bellardi, May.-Eym. Mokattam Series.
P. indigena, May.-Eym. „
*P. Schweinfurthi, Oppenh. Lower Mokattam.
*Spondylus ægyptiacus, Newton Mokattam Series.
*S. Rouaulti, d’Arch. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
*S. perhorridus, Oppenh. Lower Mokattam.
*Vulsella crispata, Fischer Lower and Upper Mokattam.
*V. lignaria, Oppenh. Lower Mokattam.
*V. moëlehensis, Oppenh. „
*V. chamiformis, May.-Eym. „
*Nucula Mœridis, Oppenh. Upper Mokattam.
*Cucullaea dimehensis, Oppenh. „
*Arca subplanicostata, Oppenh. Upper Mokattam.
*A. Tethyis, Oppenh. Mokattam Series.
*A. uniformis, Oppenh. Upper Mokattam.
*A. tenuifilosa, Cossm. Mokattam Series.
*Pectunculus juxtadentatus, Cossm. Upper Mokattam.
*P. aegyptiacus, Oppenh. „
*Cardita Viquesneli, d’Arch. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
C. acuticostata, Lk. „ „
*C. mokattamensis, Oppenh. Upper Mokattam.
*C. fayumensis, Oppenh. „
*C. fidelis, May.-Eym. „
*C. Mosis, Oppenh. Mokattam Series.
*Crassatella fajumensis, Oppenh. Upper Mokattam.
C. Junkeri, May.-Eym. „
C. puellula, May.-Eym. „
*C. trigonata, Lk. Mokattam Series.
*Lucina pharaonis, Bell. Lower and Upper Mokattam.
*L. Rai, Oppenh. Mokattam Series.
*L. polythele, Oppenh. „
*L. calliste, Oppenh. „
*L. gibbosula, Lk. Upper Mokattam.
*L. fajumensis, Oppenh. „
*L. sinuosa, Bell. „
*Diplodonta cycloidea, Bell. Mokattam Series.
*D. inflata, Bell. „
*Lucina (Diplodonta) corpusculum, Oppenh. „
*Cardium desertorum, Oppenh. Upper Mokattam.
*C. Schweinfurthi, May.-Eym. „
*Cyrena (Corbicula) Blanckenhorni, Oppenh. „
*Cyprina aegyptiaca, Oppenh. „
* * * * *
[Footnote 100: _Zur Kenntnis alttertiärer Faunen in Ägypten_. Pt. I.
_Der Bivalven, erster Teil_. Palaeontographica Bd. XXX, III.]
INDEX
* * * * *
A
Abshawai—30-31, 84.
Abu Roash as an island—65.
Acacias—25.
Adaptive radiation of Hyracoidea, &c.—69.
Aegean plateau, Giraffes, &c. of—69.
_Aetheria_—81.
Africa with Europe or Asia, Connection of—68.
Africa as centre of mammalian radiation—68, 88.
Agamiin—84.
_Agassizia gibberulus_—52.
Ain Warshat el Melh—20.
Air passages of crocodile skulls, as casts—52.
_Akera_ aff. _striatella_—51-52.
_Alectryonia Clot-Beyi_—35, 50-52.
Allen—69.
Alluvial deposits—23, 25-26, 29, 39, 79-81.
Alluvial soil, Composition of—11-12.
Alluvium covering eastern area—25, 30.
Amenemhat I—13, 26, 82, 84.
_Ampullina hybrida_—51.
_Ampullaria_—51, 81.
Analyses of water—13, 22.
Analysis of fossil bones—54.
Analysis of ox bone—55.
_Ancodus Gorringei_—34, 59, 70.
Andrews, Dr. C. W.—10, 34, 52, 59, 68, 71, 80, 87.
_Anisaster gibberulus_—52.
Anomaluridae—68-69.
Anoplotheres—69.
Antelopes—69.
Aquatic animals—55.
Aquatic hyracoid—69.
_Arca_—53, 60.
_Arca Edwardsi_—43.
_Arca subplanicostata_—90.
_Arca tenuifilosa_—90.
_Arca tethyis_—52, 90.
_Arca uniformis_—90.
Archæoceti—44, 52, 87.
Ard varks—69.
Area of Birket el Qurûn—13.
Area of cultivated land—11.
Area of desert in depression—15.
Area of Fayûm depression—9-11.
Area of Fayûm freshwater lake—80.
Arenaceous deposits—84.
Arenaceous sediments of Nile—81.
Argillaceous sandstone—36, 39, 46.
Argillaceous sands—57.
Armadillos—69.
Arsinœ—13, 83, 87.
_Arsinoitherium_—10, 54, 59, 62, 68-87.
_Arsinoitherium Andrewsii_—34, 70.
_Arsinoitherium Zitteli_—10, 34, 59, 70, 87.
Assuan Reservoir—88.
_Astarte_—46.
_Astrohelia similis_—35, 43, 51.
B
Baboons—69.
Bacchias—83-84.
Baharia Oasis—9, 25, 27, 29, 66, 67.
Bahr Belama—18.
Bahr Yusef—11-12, 17-18, 25-26, 83-84.
_Balanus_—39, 47.
Ball, Dr. J.—66.
_Barbatia_—60.
Barriers between Nile lakes—79.
Barron, T.—71.
Barton Clay—58.
Bartonian beds—43, 53-70.
_Barytherium_—10, 51, 68.
_Barytherium grave_—35, 51, 70.
Basalt sheet—15, 28, 34, 53, 56-64, 75-76 (derived).
Basins receiving drainage—25, 79.
Bats, Ravine of El—29-30, 37, 39-40.
Beadnell, H. J. L.—10, 33, 59-60, 65-66, 78, 87.
Beauchamp sands—58.
Beekite—61.
Biahmu—13, 83-84, 87.
Birds, Fossil—70-87.
Birket el Qurûn—11, 12-14, 16, 23-25, 27-28, 30-32, 36, 40-41,
43-47, 49-50, 56, 61, 72-73, 80-81, 83-84, 87-88.
Birket el Qurun Schichten—63.
Birket el Qurûn Series—23, 27, 35, 41-50, 52, 64, 72-74.
_Bithynia_ aff. _Boissieri_—81.
Blanford—69-70.
Blanckenhorn, Dr. M.—30-31, 34, 39, 45, 58, 60, 64, 66, 71, 81, 87.
Blue Nile fauna—81.
Bone horizons & pits—52, 54, 62, 76.
Borings, Artesian—18.
Borings at Medinet el Fayûm—29-30, 41.
Borings by molluscs—23, 34, 43, 71-73, 78.
Borings by shells at two levels—72-73.
_Borsonia_—37.
Boulders in gravel terraces—76.
Brackish-water shells—84.
Brain of archæoceti—52, 87.
Branches wanting on fossil trees—64-65.
British Museum collections—59.
Brown coal—53.
Brown, Sir Hanbury—11, 13, 80, 83, 87.
Bryozoa—36, 52.
_Bubalis_—80.
Bugti beds (Sind)—70.
Bullen Newton, R.—76.
C
Cairo—9, 16, 28, 49, 56, 64, 65.
Calcareous beds in lake—12.
Calcareous grits—33, 53, 56-63.
Calcareous sandstone—25, 42-43, 45, 50-51, 59, 72.
Calcite—51, 58-59, 61-62.
_Callianassa_—36, 58.
_Calyptræa trochiformis_—43.
Canals—11-12, 18-19, 29, 73.
Canals, Mud brought to lake by—14.
_Canis_—80.
Cape Rayan—21, 36.
Carbonaceous clays—46.
Carbonaceous matter—42, 51.
_Cardita_—38-39, 47.
_Cardita acuticostata_—90.
_Cardita_ aff. _carinata_—52.
_Cardita_ aff. _depressa_—52.
_Cardita ægyptiaca_—46.
_Cardita fidelis_—90.
_Cardita fajumensis_—35, 46, 50-52, 90.
_Cardita_ cf. _gracilis_ and _depressa_—52.
_Cardita mokattamensis_—90.
_Cardita Mosis_—90.
_Cardita_ aff. _triparticostata_—52.
_Cardita Viquesneli_—35, 45-46, 90.
_Cardium_—59.
_Cardium desertorum_—90.
_Cardium Schweinfurthi_—35, 43-44, 50-51, 90.
_Carolia_—36-39, 48, 50, 52.
Carolia Beds—33, 48-53, 74 (rolled blocks).
_Carolia placunoides_—35-36, 38-39, 45-49, 51-52, 73, 89.
_Cassidaria_—51.
_Cassidaria nilotica_—51.
_Cassidaria_ aff. _nodosa_—51.
Casts of crocodilian skull air passages—52.
Casts of shells—39, 44, 51, 59, 63.
Cavernous limestone—37.
Celestine—48.
Cellular weathering of sandstone—46.
Central African character of Fayûm shells—60.
Central Area of Fayûm—24-25.
Centres of independent evolution—69.
_Cerithium_—39, 46-47, 53, 57-58.
_Cerithium crispum_—58.
_Cerithium fodicatum_—37.
_Cerithium perditum_—58.
_Cerithium tiarella_—58.
Cetacea—9, 43-44, 47, 49, 87.
Chalcedony—61.
Chalky limestones—40.
Charcoal, Natural—51, 53.
Chelonians—34, 44, 54, 62.
Chert, Tabular—61-62.
Cherty limestones—57, 59, 61.
_Chicoreus anguliferus_—76.
Claudius Ptolemy—83.
_Clavellithes longævus_—35, 45-46.
Clays—12, 15, 18, 20, 22-25, 28-30, 33-53, 55-59, 61-62, 74-76,
80, 82.
Clays, Variegated—62.
Clayey marls—37, 53, 62.
Clayey sands—29, 36-37, 42, 58.
Clayey sandstones—36, 50, 57, 62.
Clayey shales—77.
_Cleopatra pirothi_—81.
_Cleopatra pirothi_ var. _unicarinata_—81.
_Cleopatra bulimoides_—81, 84.
Cliffs—12, 14-15, 20-24, 27, 32, 36, 40-41, 45-46, 48-50, 53,
56, 73-74, 84-85.
Climate, Variations in Egyptian—81.
Coal, Thin seam of—53.
Coast-line of old continent—54.
Colossi at Biahmu—84.
Concretions—35-36, 38-40, 42-46, 50, 72.
Concretionary sands—58.
Concretionary sandstones—35, 46, 49, 51, 55-56, 62.
Concretionary weathering—42, 46.
Conglomerate—25, 74-76, 78.
Conical hill near Wadi Muêla—36.
Coniferous fossil trees—63.
Constancy of beds over wide areas—33.
Continental land in Oligocene times—64.
Continuance of Oligocene continental conditions—54.
Cope Whitehouse—16-17.
Coprolites—50-51, 62.
Corals—36-37, 44, 46, 51, 53.
_Corbicula Blanckenhorni_—90.
_Corbicula fluminalis_, var. _consobrina_—81, 84.
_Corbula_—40.
_Corbula_ aff. _pixidicula_—35, 39, 43.
Cossmann, M.—45, 58, 87.
_Cossmannella ægyptiaca_—50.
Cranial casts in limestone—52.
_Crassatella fajumensis_—90.
_Crassatella Junkeri_—90.
_Crassatella puellula_—90.
_Crassatella trigonata_—90.
_Crassatellithes_—50.
Creodonts—70.
Crocodiles—9, 34, 51-55, 59, 62, 80.
_Crocodilus_—59, 70.
Crystals of quartz, calcite &c.—61.
_Cucullæa_ aff. _crassatina_—52.
_Cucullæa dimehensis_—89.
Cultivated lands—9, 11-14, 39-42, 73, 83-84.
Currents in Birket el Qurûn—14.
Currents in ancient river—52, 54, 65-66, 71-78, 80.
Current-bedded clays, sands, &c.—51, 56.
Cuvier—69.
_Cyprina ægyptiaca_—90.
_Cyrena Blanckenhorni_—90.
_Cytherea_—46.
_Cytherea Newboldi_—43.
D
Dakhla Oasis—29.
Dam at El Lahûn—84.
Dames—9, 43-44, 49, 87.
Damp climate formerly in Egypt—81.
Dashûr, Pyramids of—28.
Dasypodidae—69.
Defile of Wadi Muêla—9, 21.
Delta, Ancient—54, 66-67.
_Dentalium_—46.
Denudation, Effects of—39, 73, 75, 77, 84.
Deposition of sediments in Eocene times—54.
Depression, Origin of Fayûm—15, 29, 33, 79.
Depression cut out in sedimentary rocks—33.
Depression, Fayûm—9, 11-16, 20, 24, 26-30, 33-36, 39, 53, 61,
64, 67, 71, 75, 77-81, 84-85, 87-88.
Depression, Mogara—71.
Depression, Wadi Rayan &c.—17-19, 21-24.
Depressions of Libyan Desert—16, 29, 67.
Depth of Birket et Qurûn—13.
Der el Beda—64.
Der el Galamûn—21, 36.
Desert conditions—73, 79.
Desert region—11, 14, 16, 26-28.
Deshasleh—17.
_Dictyopleurus Haimi_—52.
Diluvial deposits—81.
Dimê—13, 31, 45, 50, 72.
Dinotheres—69.
Diodorus Siculus—13, 82.
Dionysias—83-84.
Dip, Importance and nature of—15, 33, 48-49, 55, 57, 64.
_Diplodonta corpusculum_—90.
_Diplodonta cycloidea_—90.
_Diplodonta inflata_—90.
Dip-slopes of central area &c., of Fayûm—24, 25, 27, 50.
Disconnection of Nile Valley and Fayûm—80.
Dormice—69.
Downthrow of faults—32, 50.
Drainage basins—11, 13, 23, 25.
Drains—12.
Dreikanter—56.
Druses of calcite—62.
Dugongs—53.
Dunes—17, 21-23, 26-27, 84-85.
Dunes, Slope of—26.
Dunes, Straight-lined character of—26, 85.
E
Earth-pillars—46.
Earthy limestone—46.
Echinids—36-37, 39.
_Echinolampas Crameri_—35, 50.
Edentata—69.
Edwa—82-83.
Egyptian irrigation—88.
Elephants, Early—68.
_Elephas_—80.
El-Gayat, village—20.
Elliot Smith, Dr.—52, 87.
Elwat Hialla—28, 55-56, 75-76.
Emigration of African animals—68.
Eocene sea, Extension of—66.
_Eosiren_—10, 52.
_Eosiren libyca_—35, 51, 70.
_Eremopezus libycus_—34, 70.
Erosion by Nile—79, 80.
Erosion, Superficial—85.
Escarpments—15, 21, 26-28, 31-32, 45, 49, 52, 56-58, 60-61, 75-77.
Escarpments determined by fractures—32.
_Eschara Duvali_—37.
Estuarine conditions of upper beds—53, 55.
Ethiopian faunal region—68-69.
Ethiopian region centre of independent evolution—69-70.
Euhemeria—84.
_Euspatangus Blanckenhorni_—36.
_Euspatangus cairensis_—52.
_Euspatangus formosus_—36.
Evaporation of late Pliocene lake—78-79.
Even-toed ruminants—68.
_Exogyra Fraasi_—35, 50-52.
F
Facetted quartz pebbles—56.
False-bedding—50-51, 55-57, 62, 73.
Farafra Oasis—29.
Faulting and folding—16, 29-32, 49-50.
Fault near Qasr el Sagha—32.
Fault, Nile Valley—15.
Fayûm beds shallower water than those of Mokattam—41.
Fayûm, Causes of origin of—15, 29, 33.
Ferruginous bands—51-52, 58.
Ferruginous clays—51.
Ferruginous grits—27, 58, 62, 66-67.
Ferruginous sand—54.
Ferruginous sandstone—46, 50, 52, 57.
Feshn—11.
Fibrous gypsum—52.
_Ficula tricarinata_—43.
Filhol, M.—69.
Fiord, Nile Valley—78-79.
Fish remains—9, 35, 39-40, 42-44, 46-47, 50-52, 59, 70, 77, 70.
Fish-scales—39-40, 42, 44, 77.
Fish-spines—39, 50.
Fish-teeth—39, 43, 50.
Fish-vertebrae—50.
Flat-topped hills—20.
Flinders, Petrie—13, 87.
Flint implements—61, 82.
Flint pebbles—20, 50, 56, 62-63, 73, 75-76.
Flint, Tabular—61-62.
Floods—26, 54, 67, 82.
Flood protection—88.
Flood-readings—80.
Floor of depression—39.
Fluviatile conditions of deposition—58.
Fluviatile sands, etc.—60, 66-67.
Fluviomarine conditions of deposition—33.
Fluviomarine Series—9, 27, 34, 53-65, 74-76.
Flying rodents—68-69.
Fold near Qasr el Sagha—32, 49.
Foraminiferal beds—33, 35-39, 41-42, 45-48, 74.
Formation of Fayûm lake—26, 78-80, 82-84.
Fractures determining escarpments—32.
Freshness of Birket el Qurûn—14, 24.
Freshwater conditions of deposition—58.
Freshwater lake before Mœris—79-80.
Freshwater lakes of Nile Valley—79.
Freshwater shells—18, 44, 47, 60, 80-81, 88.
Freshwater shells absent in Wadi Rayan—23.
_Fusus_—37, 48.
G
Gar el Gehannem—9, 23, 25, 27, 32, 36-39, 41, 46-47, 50, 52, 61,
67, 73, 80, 85.
Gar el Hamra—27, 67.
Garat el Esh—32, 61, 76, 85.
Garat el Faras—28, 50, 75.
Garat el Gindi—28, 75.
Garstin, Sir W.—18, 87.
Gasteropods—36, 58.
_Geniohyus_—10.
_Geniohyus fayumensis_—34, 70.
_Geniohyus major_—34, 70.
_Geniohyus mirus_—34, 70.
Geodes—61.
Geological Succession in Wadi Rayan—22.
Geological Magazine—10, 87.
Geology of Fayûm—33, 90.
Geziret el Qorn—31, 40, 43-45, 63.
Gharaq, Bahr el—11, 17.
Gharaq Basin—11, 13, 19-20, 23-26, 31, 36, 85.
Gharaq, Wadi—17.
Ghardag bushes—22.
Ghart el Khanashat—26-27, 85.
_Gigantophis_—10.
_Gigantophis Garstini_—35, 51, 70.
Giraffes—69.
_Gisortia_—37.
_Gisortia gigantea_—51.
Giza, Pyramids of—28, 63.
Glacial period—69, 81.
Glauconitic clays—36, 39, 50.
Glauconitic marl—39.
Glauconitic sands—37.
Globular concretions—35, 42-46, 72.
_Glycimeris pulvinatus_—52.
Goat remains—80.
_Goniastræa cocchii_—43.
_Goniaræa elegans_—51.
_Goniopora_—51.
Grass in desert—27.
Gravels—15, 25-27, 32, 34, 40-42, 73-78.
Gravel-capped hills—75.
Gravel terraces—25, 34, 42, 71, 73-80.
Gravelly gypsum—77.
Grenfell, Mr.—83-84, 87.
Grits—27, 33-34, 57-63, 66.
Grooving due to blown sand—85.
_Gryphæa arabica_—89.
_Gryphæa Edmonstonei_—89.
_Gryphæa histris_—89.
_Gryphæa pharaonum_—89.
_Gryphæa Whitehousei_—89.
Gauges, Nile—80.
Gypseous clays—33, 35, 37-40, 44-46, 51-52.
Gypseous deposits—71, 75, 77, 79.
Gypseous limestone—50, 52.
Gypseous marls—37-39.
Gypseous plain—20-21.
Gypseous sands—39.
Gypseous shale—42, 48.
Gypsum—18, 20, 36-37, 39, 42, 50-52, 61-62, 77-79.
Gypsum of Paris, Animals in—69.
H
Hade of fault—32.
Haram el Bahrl, El—36.
Harpoons, Flint—61.
Hawara—11, 13, 26, 87.
Headon Hill beds—58.
Height of Pliocene terraces—76.
_Heliastræa acervularia_—43.
_Heliastræa Ellisi_—13.
_Heliastræa flattersi_—43.
Heluan—16.
Herodotus—13, 82, 84.
High-level lake—83.
_Hippopotamus_—69, 80.
Historic epoch—81-85.
Horns of Birket el Qurûn due to siliceous bands—41.
Hunt, Mr.—83-84, 87.
Huxley, Prof.—68.
_Hydractinia_—38.
_Hydractinia cornuta_—35.
_Hydrobia stagnalis_—84.
Hyracoidea—69.
I
Ice periods—69, 81.
Immigration of animals into Africa—68.
Implements, Flint—61.
India, Fauna of—69.
Indo-Malayan faunal region—69.
Invasion of Africa by European animals—69.
Invasion of Europe by African animals—69.
Ironstone—50, 58-59.
Irrigation works, Result of—12, 88.
_Isocardia cyprinoides_—43.
J
Jerboas—69.
Joint-planes—36.
K
Kafr el Ayat—11.
Karanis—84.
Kayser—87.
Kenîsa, El—72.
Kharga Oasis—29.
Knobs along line of fault—32.
Kom Ombo—81.
Korif, Wadi—21.
L
Lacustrine deposits—12-13, 34, 40, 44, 47, 49, 66-67, 79-80, 82.
Lahûn—11, 26, 39, 84.
Lahûn Pyramid—28, 42.
Lake deposits—67, 79.
Lake in Fayûm—11-14, 78-80.
Lake Mœris—12-13, 18-19, 23-24, 43, 49, 79-80, 82-84, 87-88.
Lake, Nile Valley—78-79.
Lake of the Horns—12.
Lamellibranchs—12, 58-59, 89.
Lamination of arenaceous deposits—66.
Land-animal remains—52-54.
Land-areas, Ancient—65-67, 71.
_Lanistes_—53, 58, 81.
_Lanistes antiquus_—51.
_Lanistes bartonianus_—34, 60.
_Lanistes carinatus_—60.
Lava Flows—15, 33-34, 53, 56-58, 61-62, 75.
Leakage through ridge of Wadi Rayan—23.
_Leda_—35, 39.
Lenticular sand-beds—55.
_Leptodon_—69.
Levels made from Rayan to Nile Valley—17.
Libyan Desert, Area, etc., of—15, 88.
Liernur Bey—17-18, 87.
Liernur, Wadi—17, 19.
Lignite—51, 53.
Ligurian beds—43, 64, 88.
Limb-bones of vertebrates—52.
Limestones—12, 15-16, 20-25, 29, 33-42, 45-53, 56-57, 59-62,
65-66, 73-77.
_Limnæa mœris_—81.
_Limnæa natalensis_—81.
_Limnæa palustris_—81.
Linant de Bellefonds—16, 83, 88.
_Linthia_—52.
Little Rayan—22.
Littoral deposits—66.
Loam—39.
_Lobocarcinus Paulino-Wurtembergicus_—36.
Lower Headon Hill beds—58.
Lower Oligocene—53-70.
Lucas, A.—9, 14, 22, 54, 88.
_Lucina_—36, 39, 45-46, 48, 53, 58.
_Lucina calliste_—90.
_Lucina consobrina_—37.
_Lucina Defrancei_—37.
_Lucina fajumensis_—90.
_Lucina fortisiana_—51.
_Lucina gibbosula_—90.
_Lucina globulosa_—37.
_Lucina pharaonis_—35, 43, 45, 51, 90.
_Lucina polythele_—90.
_Lucina pomum_—43.
_Lucina Rai_—90.
_Lucina sinuosa_—90.
_Lucina_ cf. _tabulata_—43.
Lulu, Wadi—17.
Lydekker, R.—70.
M
_Macrosolen Hollowaysi_—35, 46, 51.
_Mactra compressa_—43.
Madagascar and Africa, Connection of—68.
Mammalia, Fossil—34-35, 55, 62, 38-70, 80, 87.
Mammillary weathering—57.
Mandibles of vertebrates—52.
Marls—18, 29-30, 33-35, 37, 39-42, 49-50, 53, 55, 61-62, 73-74, 76.
Marls in lake—12.
Marls, Saliferous—19.
Marly clays—29-30, 57, 62.
Marly gypsum—77.
Marly limestones—33, 35, 37-39, 47-48, 62, 77.
Marsh land—26, 40, 82.
Martens, Prof. von.—60, 81, 88.
Masaigega, Wadi—19.
Masaret-Abusia—40.
Mastodons—68-69.
Mayer-Eymar, K.—37, 43, 49, 53, 64, 88.
Mazana—17, 19.
Medinet el Fayûm—29-30, 41, 82-83.
Mediterranean fauna—81.
Medum—40, 77 (pyramid).
_Megalohyrax_—10.
_Megalohyrax eocænus_—34, 59, 70.
_Megalohyrax minor_—34, 70.
_Melania_—53, 57-60.
_Melania muricata_—60.
_Melania_ cf. _Nysti_—60, 64.
_Melania tuberculata_—81, 84.
_Melanopsis_—81.
_Melanopsis_ fauna—81.
_Melongena nilotica_, var. _bicarinata_—51.
Menesi Ali, Ezba—17.
_Meretrix nitidula_—51.
_Meretrix parisiensis_—51.
_Mesalia_—51.
_Mesalia fasciata_—35, 51.
_Mesalia oxycrepis_—51.
Middle Eocene—9-10, 15, 32-33, 35-53, 54-55, 57-58, 60, 62, 64,
66-67, 70, 80.
Migrations of mammalia—69-70.
Miocene beds suggested—64.
Miocene, Lower—34, 54, 70.
Miocene, Lower, of Orient European in type—70.
Miocene strata, Absence of—34, 71.
_Mitra_—36.
_Mœriophis Schweinfurthi_—50, 70.
Mœris (see Lake Mœris).
_Mœritherium_—10, 52, 59, 68, 70.
_Mœritherium gracilis_—35, 51, 70.
_Mœritherium Lyonsi_—34, 35, 51, 59, 70.
_Mœritherium trigodon_—34-70.
Mogara—34, 54, 71, 85.
Mokattam beds, Lower—35, 89-90.
Mokattam beds, Upper—33, 41, 49, 89-90.
Mokattam beds deeper water than Fayûm beds—41.
Mokattam, Jebel—39, 41, 49.
Monastery in Wadi Muêla—21.
Moncrieff, Sir C. S.—16-17, 87.
Monkeys—69.
Monoclinal fold—16.
Monograph of Fayûm vertebrates—10.
Monotony of desert—26.
Muêla, Wadi—9, 14, 16-17, 20-21, 35-37, 88-89.
_Mutela_—53, 60.
_Mytilus affinis_—51.
N
_Natica_—46.
_Natica crassatina_—64.
Natrûn, Wadi—26, 27, 54, 85.
_Nautilus_—36, 46, 48.
Nawamis—40.
_Necrodasypus_—69.
Neolithic implements—82, 87.
_Neritina nilotica_—81, 84.
Nezleh Canal—19.
_Nicolia_—63.
Nile deposit absent in Wadi Rayan—23.
Nile mud—80-82.
Nile Valley, Connection with—11, 13, 17-18, 79-82.
Nile Valley, History of—79, 87.
Nile waters enter depression—26, 79-80, 82.
Nilometer—80.
Nodular bands—44, 47.
Nodular limestones—48.
Nodules, Calcareous—39, 61.
_Nonionina_—46.
Northern Desert Region—9, 26-28, 87.
_Nucula Mœridis_—89.
_Nucularia_—35, 39.
Nummulites—33, 36, 39, 41, 46-48.
_Nummulites Beaumonti_—35, 41.
_Nummulites curvispira_—35-37.
_Nummulites Fraasi_—35, 41-42.
_Nummulites gizehensis_—33, 35-37, 39, 41, 48.
_Nummulites gizehensis_ limestones—33, 35-37, 39, 41, 48.
_Nummulites Schweinfurthi_—41.
_Nummulites sub-Beaumonti_—41.
Nummulitic limestones—36-39, 65.
O
Oases depressions—67.
Oases, Origin of—29.
Oasis, Parva—83.
Oldest beds in Fayûm—33.
Oligocene beds—34, 53, 70.
Oligocene of Orient European in type—70.
_Oliva_—46.
_Operculina_—33, 46, 74.
_Operculina discoidea_—35, 41-42, 47, 74.
_Operculina-Nummulite_ Beds—35, 41-48, 74.
Oppenheim, Dr. P.—43, 50, 88-89.
Oriental faunal region—69.
Origin of Fayûm, Causes of—15.
Original floor of depression—39.
Osborn, Prof. H. F.—68, 70.
_Ostrea_—36-39, 42, 44-46, 48-50, 52.
_Ostrea Bellardi_—89.
_Ostrea Caillaudi_—89.
_Ostrea Clot-Beyi_—38, 46, 89.
_Ostrea cucullata_—41, 71, 77.
_Ostrea digitalina_—43.
_Ostrea Edmonstonei_—89.
_Ostrea elegans_—35, 51, 89.
_Ostrea flabellula_—51.
_Ostrea Fraasi_—38-39, 47, 89.
_Ostrea gigantea_—43.
_Ostrea gigantica_—89.
_Ostrea Gumbeli_—37.
_Ostrea Hessi_—89.
_Ostrea_ aff. _heteroclyta_—51.
_Ostrea histris_—89.
_Ostrea longirostris_—43.
_Ostrea Mehemeti_—89.
_Ostrea paucicostata_—89.
_Ostrea plicata_—43, 89.
_Ostrea producta_—43.
_Ostrea qeruniana_—89.
_Ostrea ramosa_—89.
_Ostrea Reili_—35, 39, 45-47, 51-52, 89.
_Ostrea Schweinfurthi_—89.
_Ostrea semipectinata_—89.
_Ostrea Sickenbergeri_—89.
_Ostrea Stanleyi_—89.
_Ostrea Whitehousei_—89.
_Oudardia ovalis_—39.
Outlets, Subterranean, to lake—14, 24.
Outliers—21, 28.
Output of water from springs—22.
Oysters—36, 39, 42, 48.
Oyster-beds—36, 50.
Oyster-limestone—52.
P
Palæogene freshwater shells—60.
Palæogene vertebrate fauna—87.
Palæontographica—43, 63, 88.
_Palæomastodon_—10, 59, 68.
_Palæomastodon Beadnelli_—34, 59, 70.
_Palæomastodon minor_—34, 70.
Palms—21-22.
_Paludina_—81.
Pangolins—69.
Paper-shales—36, 51.
Paris basin—58.
Parisian beds—18, 35-53.
Pass from Muêla to Rayan—21.
Pebble deposits—18, 30, 39-40, 56, 58, 76, 78.
_Pecten_—39, 42, 46-47.
_Pecten benedictus_—71.
_Pecten Caillaudi_—89.
_Pecten corneus_—37.
_Pecten moëlehensis_—37, 52, 59.
_Pecten solariolum_—52.
_Pectunculus_—46.
_Pectunculus juxtadentatus_—90.
_Pectunculus ægyptiacus_—51, 90.
_Pectunculus pseudopulvinatus_—35.
_Pectunculus pulvinatus_—52.
_Pelomedusa progaleata_—70.
Pelvis of _Arsinoitherium_—54.
Perforate weathering of sandstone—46.
Permeability of Wadi Rayan—24.
Perennial irrigation in Egypt—88.
Pharaonic province—84.
Philotera—84.
_Phiomia_—10.
_Phiomia serridens_—34, 59, 70.
_Pinna_—39, 47.
Plains—50, 52, 54, 77.
Plain of subaerial denudation—39.
_Planorbis Ehrenbergi_—84.
_Planorbis marginatus_ var. _subangulata_—84.
_Planorbis subangulata_—81.
Plant-remains—42, 50-51, 53, 57.
Plateau bounding Fayûm to north—26.
_Plateaux_—15, 21, 25, 27-28, 32, 62.
Pleistocene Beds—30, 34, 47, 50, 54, 71, 79-81, 84.
_Pleurotoma_—37, 43, 46, 53, 58.
_Pleurotoma ingens_—34, 58.
_Plicatula Bellardi_—50-51, 89.
_Plicatula indigena_—89.
_Plicatula polymorpha_—35, 45-46, 51.
_Plicatula pyramidarum_—89.
_Plicatula Schweinfurthi_—89.
Pliny—82.
Pliocene Beds—30, 34, 41-42, 54, 69, 71-78.
Pliocene sea, Invasion of—43, 71, 78.
_Pliohyrax_—69.
_Podocnemis antiqua_—37, 70.
_Podocnemis Blanckenhorni_—70.
_Podocnemis Blanckenhorni_ var. _ovata_—70.
_Podocnemis fajumensis_—70.
_Podocnemis Stromeri_—35, 70.
_Podocnemis Stromeri_ var. _major_—70.
Pools formed by rainfall—25.
Pools produced by springs—20, 22.
_Potamides_—53.
_Potamides scalaroides_—34, 58, 64.
_Potamides tiarella_—64.
_Potamides tristriatus_—34.
Prehistoric epoch—81-82.
Prehistoric lake—23, 79-82.
Preservation of fossil remains—55.
Proboscidea—68-69.
Promontories of Birket el Qurûn, Origin of—41.
_Propristis Schweinfurthi_—35, 51, 70.
_Psephophorus eocænus_—35, 70.
_Pseudodon_—58, 60.
_Pterodon_—10.
_Pterodon africanus_—34, 59, 70.
_Pterodon macrognathus_—34, 70.
_Pterosphenus_—10.
_Pterosphenus Schweinfurthi_—35, 50-51, 70.
Ptolemaic lake—84.
Ptolemaic period—82.
Ptolemy Philadelphus—84.
Ptolemy the second—84.
Puddingstone of ancient rivers—26, 67.
Pyramid-like building—74.
Pyramid pebbles—56.
Q
Qalamsha, Ezba—23, 25-26, 41-42, 77.
Qasr el Banat—84.
Qasr el Qurûn—84.
Qasr el Sagha—9, 31-32, 43, 49, 52, 56-58, 60-61.
Qasr el Sagha Series—27, 32-33, 35, 38, 41, 44-57, 64-66, 75, 77.
Qatrani, Jebel El—28, 55, 61, 75.
Qatrani beds—34, 53-70.
_Qerunia_—38.
_Qerunia cornuta_—35, 45-46, 48, 51-52.
Quartz pebbles—20, 50, 56, 62-63, 73, 75.
Quartz sand—55.
Quartzite—62, 73-75.
R
Radiation of Mammalia from Africa—69.
Railway to Fayûm—40.
Raised beaches—34, 41.
Ratite bird—87.
Ravine Beds—23, 25, 29-30, 35, 37-42, 46, 77.
Ravines—12, 19, 29, 37, 39-40.
Rayan, Jebel—36-37.
Rayan, Geology of Wadi—22-23.
Rayan, Little—22.
Rayan Series—24, 25, 30, 33, 35-39, 41.
Rayan, Wadi—9, 11, 14-24, 27-28, 31, 85, 87-89.
Rays—70.
Recent Beds—34, 81-85.
Reclamation of Fayûm lake—82-84.
Reconnection of Nile Valley and Fayûm—80.
Reeds—20.
Regulator of floods, Fayûm as—82.
Reinach, Von—59, 88.
Reptiles, Fossil—70.
Reservoir at Assuan—88.
Reservoir proposed in Wadi Rayan—16-19.
Retreat of Eocene sea—54, 55, 66.
_Rhinoceros bicornis_—69.
Ridge separating Nile Valley and Fayûm—25-26, 71, 73-74, 79-80.
Ridge separating Rayan and Gharaq—23.
_Rimella rimosa_—35, 51.
Ripple-marked sandstone—51.
Rise of Nile bed—80.
River, Ancient—27, 52-55, 66-67, 79.
River-currents—65, 71, 78.
River-sand—55.
Roads in desert—27.
Rocks forming Libyan Desert—15.
Roda—13, 75, 80.
Rodents, Flying—68-69.
Rohlfs’ Expedition—9, 63.
Rolled fossils—73.
_Rostellaria_—37.
Round-topped hill-ranges—75.
Rubiat—39-42.
Ruins—20-22, 48-50, 52.
Ruminants, Even-toed—68-69.
Rushes—20.
S
_Saghatherium_—10.
_Saghatherium antiquum_—34, 59, 70.
_Saghatherium magnum_—34, 70.
_Saghatherium minus_—34, 59, 70.
Salines—20.
Salinity of lake—14.
Salinity of water in Wadi Rayan—24.
Salt—18, 36, 77, 79.
Salt in Wadis Rayan & Muêla—19, 20, 88.
Samos, Island of—69.
Sands—15, 18, 21, 29, 33-34, 40, 42, 47, 50, 53, 55-59, 61-62,
71, 74-76, 80.
Sand accumulations, Wind-blown—12, 20-21, 32, 34, 73, 84-85.
Sand, &c., deposited in Birket el Qurûn—13, 80, 84.
Sandberger Hills—62.
Sandblast action—73.
Sand-rock—44, 50-51, 56-60, 62, 74.
Sands, Variegated—34, 53, 57, 59.
Sandstones—15, 28, 32-36, 38-39, 42-63, 72, 74-77.
Sandstone, Concretionary—35, 38.
Sandstone-grit—56, 58, 62-63.
Sandstones, Mottled—62.
Sandstones, Variegated—76.
Sandy clays—12, 18, 36-37, 42, 44, 46, 50-52, 56-59, 62.
Sandy conglomerate—18.
Sandy limestones—25, 35-36, 38-39, 42, 49-52.
Sandy marl—37, 42, 62.
Sandy shale—42.
Saqâra, Pyramid of—28.
Saws, Flint—61.
Scalenohedra of calcite—51.
_Schizaster_—36.
_Schizaster_ aff. _africanus_—52.
Schweinfurth, Dr.—9, 14, 19, 24, 34-37, 43-44, 49, 64, 71-72,
77-80, 88.
Schweinfurth’s Temple—49.
Scoring due to blown sand—85.
Scott Moncrieff, Sir C.—88.
Sculpturing of sandstone—85.
_Scutella_ beds—64.
Second Cataract—81.
Sections, Geological—36-42, 44-47, 50-52, 56, 58-62.
Sediment deposited in Fayûm—26, 54.
Sêla—9, 26, 39-40, 73.
Septaria—46.
_Serpula_—46.
Sersena—25, 42, 75.
Shales—36, 42, 48.
Shaly Clays—44, 47, 62, 77.
Shaly marl—39-41, 44.
Sharks—39.
Sharks’ teeth—46, 51.
Sheep remains—80.
Shell-borings—72.
Shell-impressions—39-40, 42, 44, 50.
Shelly limestone—38-39, 46, 51-52.
Shelly sands—36.
Shelly sandstone—46, 51.
Sherwin, R. S.—78.
Shore-line, Ancient—77.
Shore-line, Movements of—65.
Shrinkage of Birket el Qurûn—13.
Sidmant el Jebel—17, 34, 71, 77.
Siliceous bands, Horns of Birket el Qurûn due to—41.
Siliceous beds capping hills—61.
Siliceous limestone—37, 41.
Silicified grits—27, 62, 67.
Silicified sandstones—32, 57.
Silicified trees—27, 34, 51, 53, 55-59, 61, 63, 65, 73-75.
Silicified trees, Size of—53, 63.
Silsila—81.
Siluroid fish—35, 51, 70, 80.
Sirenia—51.
Sites, Excavated—84.
Skeleton-carrying currents—53.
Soil, Character of—11-12, 88.
Soil survey—9.
_Solarium_—51.
_Solarium_ aff. _bistriatum_—51.
South Africa as centre of evolution—69.
South America, Migrations to—69.
_Spatha_—53, 58, 60, 81.
_Spatha dahomeyensis_—60.
_Spatha Droueti_—60.
_Spondylus ægyptiacus_—52, 89.
_Spondylus perhorridus_—89.
_Spondylus Ruaulti_—89.
Springs in Wadi Muêla—20.
Springs of Wadi Rayan—22.
Stem-weathering in sandstone—56.
Step-faults—31.
_Stereogenys Cromeri_—35, 51, 70.
_Stereogenys libyca_—70.
_Stereogenys podocnemioides_—35, 70.
Stock-work—50.
Stone Age, Neolithic—82.
Strabo—13, 82.
Strata, Classification of—34.
Strike faults—32.
Stromer von Reichenbach, E.—44, 59, 69, 88.
Strontium sulphate pseudomorphs—48.
Subaerial denudation—39.
Sub-fossil fauna of Fayûm—81.
Successive faunal invasions, Theory of—68.
Sulphate of lime—78.
Sulphate of strontium pseudomorphs—48.
Survey collections—59.
Surveying operations—9.
Surveying by Colonel Western—17.
T
Table-land of cultivated area—11.
Tafla beds—39.
Tamarisk growth—22, 25, 72, 82.
Tamia—12-13, 15, 25, 27-28, 31, 40, 42, 49-50, 55-56, 72, 75.
Tamia lake—40.
Tectonics—16, 29-32.
_Tellina_—40, 42, 51.
_Tellina pellucida_—43.
_Tellina scalaroides_—35.
_Tellina tenuistriata_—35, 39.
Temperature changes in desert—73.
Temperature effects on pebbles—56.
Temperature of springs in Wadi Rayan—22.
Temple of Qasr el Sagha—49, 56.
_Terebellum sopitum_—36.
_Teredo_—39, 47.
_Testudo Ammon_—10, 34, 59, 70.
_Thallassochelys libyca_—35, 70.
Theadelphia—84.
Thickness of beds in section—37-29, 42, 45-46, 49-52, 56-60,
65, 76-77.
Thickness of sediments in Fayûm—15.
Thinning of Fluvio-marine series—55.
_Tomistoma_—70.
_Tomistoma africanum_—35, 51, 59, 70.
Tongrian beds—13, 64, 88.
Toothed whales—39.
Topography and structural geology—11-28.
Tortoises, Large—10, 53-54, 59, 66, 87.
_Trachelochetus bituberculatus_—51.
Tropical shells in Fayûm—60.
Tuba, El—40.
_Tudicla_ aff. _umbilicaris_—51.
Tufaceous gypsum—77.
_Turbo Parkinsoni_—43.
_Turritella_—38-39, 44-53.
_Turritella angulata_—43, 45, 60, 64.
_Turritella carinifera_—35, 38, 43, 51-52.
_Turritella imbricataria_—51-52.
_Turritella Lessepsi_—51.
_Turritella parisiana_—51.
_Turritella pharaonica_—34-35, 45, 51-52, 58.
_Turritella transitoria_—43.
_Turritella turris_—43.
Turtles—53-55, 59, 60.
Twelfth Dynasty—26, 82.
Twigs preserved in clays—53.
U
Um el Atl—84.
Unconformable junctions—39-40, 73, 76.
Underground outlets of Birket el Qurûn—14.
Ungulate, Horned—10.
_Unio_—34, 53, 58-60.
_Unio abyssinicus_—81.
_Unio Bonneaudi_—60.
_Unio Caillaudi_—60.
_Unio Homsensis_—60.
_Unio lithophagus_—60.
_Unio Nyassænsis_—60.
_Unio Schweinfurthi_—81.
_Unio teretiusculus_—60.
Upper Eocene—10, 32-34, 53-70, 76.
Upper Mokattam beds—33.
Upper Nile basin—87.
Ur-Nil—66.
V
_Valvata nilotica_—80, 84.
Vegetation in water-courses—25.
_Velates Schmiedeli_—37.
_Venus_—46.
_Venus plicatella_—35.
_Vermetus_—46.
Vertebrae of _Mœritherium_—52.
Vertebrae of _Zeuglodon_—45, 47, 50.
Vertebrate fauna, Discovery of—9.
Vertebrates, Extinct—10, 34-35, 43, 49, 51-52, 55, 61, 63, 65,
67, 70, 87.
_Voluta_—46.
_Voluta arabica_—35.
_Vulsella chamiformis_—37, 89.
_Vulsella crispata_—89.
_Vulsella lignaria_—89.
_Vulsella moëlehensis_—89.
W
Wadi, Ravine of El—29-30, 37, 39.
Wadi Rayan, Muêla, etc. (see under Rayan, Muêla).
Wadi Rayan series—35-37.
Warshat el Melh—20.
Water analyses—22.
Water-courses—25.
Water-rounded pebbles—56, 72.
Water-supply of Fayûm—11, 88.
Weathering—57.
Wells—21.
Western, Colonel—16-18, 22, 87.
Whales, Frequency of river and shore-frequenting—53.
Whales, Toothed—39.
Whitehouse, Cope—88.
White Nile fauna, Absence of—81.
Widan el Faras—28, 55, 58, 60, 62, 75-76.
Willcocks, Sir William—13-14, 17-19, 80-88.
Wind-shadow—84.
X
Xiphodonts—29.
Z
_Zeuglodon_—9, 39, 44, 49, 52, 87-88.
_Zeuglodon brachyspondylus_—44.
_Zeuglodon Isis_—35, 44-45, 47, 70.
_Zeuglodon macrospondylus_—44.
_Zeuglodon Osiris_—35, 44, 47, 49-51, 70.
_Zeuglodon Zitteli_—44, 70.
Zeuglodon Valley—41, 46-49, 61, 63, 85.
Zittel, Prof. K.—43, 49, 62, 89.
* * * * *
[Illustration: PL. XVII.
GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE FAYUM DEPRESSION
_Survey Dept. Cairo._]
[Illustration: PL. XVIII.
MAP SHOWING PRINCIPAL BONE-BEARING LOCALITIES
_Survey Dept. Cairo._]
[Illustration: Plate XIX.
SECTION FROM THE BIRKET EL QURÛN THROUGH DIMÊ AND QASR EL
SAGHA TO THE SUMMIT OF JEBEL EL QATRANI.]
[Illustration: Plate XX.
SECTION FROM WADI RAYAN TO THE SUMMIT OF THE ESCARPMENT NORTH OF GAR
EL GEHANNEM.]
[Illustration: Plate XXI.
SECTION OF THE DESERT RIDGE SEPARATING THE NILE VALLEY AND THE FAYÛM.]
[Illustration: Plate XXII.
SECTION FROM SIDMANT EL JEBEL IN THE NILE VALLEY THROUGH MEDINET
EL FAYÛM TO THE SUMMIT OF JEBEL EL QATRANI, NEAR WIDAN EL FARAS.]
[Illustration: Plate XXIII.
MIDDLE EOCENE ESCARPMENT NEAR QASR EL SAGHA.]
[Illustration: Plate XXIV.
FROM GARAT EL ESH TO THE SUMMIT OF JEBEL EL QATRANI.]
Transcriber's note:
pg 4 Changed: "Homotoxial with quarried" to: "Homotaxial"
pg 6 Changed: "M.—_Gyseous Deposits_" to: "_Gypseous_"
pg 30 Absent references to footnotes 30 and 31 added after
"an accompanying map" and "plateau north of the lake." respectively.
pg 31, footnote 32 Changed: "Bd. XXX I 1902" to: "Bd. XXXII 1902"
pg 34, footnote 34 Changed: "III, Das Miocân,”" to:
"III, “Das Miocän,”"
pg 58 Changed: "_Potamides tristiatus_" to: "_tristriatus_"
pg 66, footnote 82 Some missing text has been indicated as [Blank].
pg 69, footnote 84 Changed: "für Saügetiere" to: "Säugetiere"
pg 79 Changed: "matter or considerable doubt" to: "of"
pg 80 Changed: "with little resistence" to: "resistance"
pg 87 Changed: "_Eocene beds of the Fayûm, Egypi_" to: "_Egypt_"
pg 88 Changed: "_Versteinerungen der tertiāren_" to: "tertiären"
pg 88 Changed: "_für Saugetiere_" to: "_Säugetiere_"
pg 88 Changed: "_der Libyschen Wūste_" to: "_Wüste_"
pg 89 Changed: "Nacula Mœridis" to: "Nucula"
pg 91 Changed: "_Arca tethyis_—52-90." to: "52, 90."
pg 97 Changed: "Muêla, Wadi— [. . .] 21-21," to: "20-21,"
pg 97 Changed: "_Mytilus affinus_" to: "_affinis_"
pg 98 Changed: "Perrenial irrigation" to: "Perennial"
pg 98 Changed: "_Plonorbis subangulata_" to: "_Planorbis_"
pg 98 Changed: "_Pectunculus pseudopulvinatus_—" to:
"_Pectunculus pseudopulvinatus_—35."
pg 99 Changed: "Rohlfs’ Expedition—9-63." to: "9, 63."
pg 100 Changed: "Thickness of beds in section—37-29" to: "37-39"
Minor changes in punctuation have been done silently.
Typographical errors changing æ for œ and vice versa have been
fixed silently.
Placenames commonly spelled with diacritics (Fayûm, Qurûn, Lahûn,
etc.) were also accented elsewhere except illustration captions,
headers and titles of cited works.
Other spelling inconsistencies have been left unchanged.
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