Geoelectrical investigation beneath Behbiet ElHigara and ElKom ElAkhder archaeological sites, Samannud area, Nile Delta, Egypt

Geoelectrical resistivity and resistance geoscanning techniques were conducted on Behbiet ElHigara and ElKom ElAkhder archeological sites for two purposes. The first was aimed to study the palaeohydrography and the subsurface geological picture of these sites; for this purpose, 19 vertical electric soundings were conducted along two E–W profiles across the sites. The results indicate that both archaeological sites represent buried high sand gizeras occupied by the ancient Egyptians as they were safe from the high floods and near to the freshwater courses that passed by the sites. The second purpose was to delineate any buried archaeological remains under the soil. For this purpose, resistance geoscanning survey was conducted on the two sites, together with three detailed and shallow geoelectric resistivity profiles along ElKom ElAkhder for more confirmation. The results indicate that the low-resistivity clayey deposits predominate on the two sites. Behbiet ElHigara is characterized by shallow, circular and small-extent anomalies that could be referred to small granitic blocks at shallow depths, whereas at ElKom ElAkhder, a high resistivity anomaly embedded within a low resistivity clayey facies was noticed: this could represent the buried sand gezira (islet) of ElKom ElAkhder. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.