Overview

How to investigate an archaeological site that became inaccessible? When the Egyptian Western Desert was closed for security reasons in 2016 just before the start of the first archaeological excavation at Umm al-Dabadib, in the Kharga Oasis, this question became the starting point for an unexpected journey in search of an alternative methodology. Our multidisciplinary team, including Egyptologists, archaeologists, architects, historians, engineers, mathematicians, IT experts, botanists and hydrologists, embarked in a ‘remote investigation’ based on a combination of new tools and methods that were used to retrieve fresh information from old data and alternative sources. Studied from the distance, the Late Roman Fortified Settlement and its contemporary agricultural system provided a wealth of information not only on a specific period of the life of Umm al-Dabadib, but also on its geographical, historical and strategic context. A remote investigation does not substitute an archaeological excavation, but in a remote place like Umm al-Dabadib, nested in an intact natural environment rich in biodiversity, it can help to direct and concentrate future excavations, and reduce both their costs and their impact on the site.

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Corinna Rossi (Napoli, Italy, 1968) obtained an MA in Architecture at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (Italy) and an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in Egyptology under the supervision of Barry J. Kemp at Cambridge University (UK). She was Junior Reserach Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge (UK) and is currently Associate Professor of Egyptology at Politecnico di Milano (Italy). She was the Co-Director of the North Kharga Oasis Survey and is the Director of the Italian Mission to Umm al-Dabadib. She works as a consultant for Museo Egizio, Torino on the subjects of digitisation and digitalisation. She published extensively on the subject of architecture and mathematics in ancient Egypt and on the Kharga Oasis in the Late Roman Period.

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