Ancient Water Supply System in Tall Tanis, Archaeological Area Northeastern Nile Delta Region, Port Said, Egypt

Abstract

During the geological history, the Nile developed his valley and built up the Delta. The floodplain extends from El-Tina Plain east of Port Said city to Alexandria city in the west. The contour map shows that the surface of the eastern Delta is higher than the western surface; this leads to the formation of many depressions and lakes in the northwestern of the Delta. Lake Manzala is located at the northeastern corner of the Nile Delta. Within the Manzala lagoon, there are many archaeological sites, the most important being Tall Tanis which is located 6 km south of Port Said and covers an area of about 8 km². It was a seaport and center of commerce of some importance. It is the remains of the settlements such as the water tanks and the textile factory dated to the early Islamic era that might have been destroyed or demolished by the outlaws.

Economic and social activities in the Tanis region were influenced by three main water bodies throughout its history: the Mediterranean Sea, the River Nile throughout the Tanitic ancient Nile Delta Branch, and Lake Manzala which extended to the south and southwest of the site.

The water supply and storage systems relied on the annual Nile flood, during which the lake became potable; water was collected from the waterway by using shaduf or saqiya and stored in tanks or cisterns on the island for use throughout the rest of the year. There are two types of water tanks used to store the Nile water. The big tanks and their connecting channels/ditches may indicate that it was controlled by authorities as public facilities, while the small foundations were endowed by the private sectors.