Wilkinson´s 2nd Zerzura
The discovery of Djedefre´s water-mountain
and of
the
Jaqub-Wells („Biar Jaqub“)
(including remarks on
Clayton-rings)
Summary:
This report
deals with the discovery of Djedefre´s
water-mountain (Harding King´s
stone temple) and with the discovery of Biar Jaqub (Wilkinson´s second Zerzura) both in two days
marching-distance southwest of Dakhla Oasis, Egypt. The two discoveries provide
important insight into the transition period from Late Neolithic to Early
Pharaonic civilization.
At Djedefre´s water-mountain the author
found the cartouches of Chufu (Cheops) and of Djedefre as well as hieroglyphic texts
explaining the purpose of several 4th dynasty expeditions to the far
away site (published in
GEO Special Ägypten, 5 Oct. 2001, pp 120-127). There, dating
most probably to Late Neolithic period a map showing 10 wells and a number of
irrigated fields is exposed on the rock face. (One of the wells is superimposed by an animal of the
Neolithic pictorial canon suggesting that the map is older than Pharaonic.)
This map led the author to Biar Jaqub
where he found all the wells. They and the surrounding area comprise an ancient
“lost” oasis (Wilkinson´s 2nd
Zerzura). The map is the oldest one in the world.
Djedefre´s water-mountain and Biar Jaqub are situated in an area where, according to J. Ball (see quote at the beginning of the manuscript), no
“lost” oasis could be found as, in his judgement, interbedded clays between
layers of Nubian Sandstone are missing. Surprisingly, these layers of clay were
found by the author just in that region. The clays hinder water from local
rainfall to penetrate deep into the sandstone, therefore, promoting the
development of underground water resources that could have been tapped by the
ancients or that would have formed natural outlets at topographically
favourable places.
The map at Djedefre´s water-mountain presents
examples of wells connected with irrigated fields by means of small canals.
Therefore, in the view of the Neolithic people themselves, the wells were
either artesian springs or springs that disposed their charge from nearby
“horizontal” groundwater-reservoirs. In any case, the arrangements of wells,
irrigation canals and fields are the first in situ evidence of an “early agricultural report” from
Neolithic times.
Moreover, as
proved by similar finds at Abydos (Symbols of irrigated fields on tiny clay- or ivory-palettes) the
representations used by Neolithic people for artesian wells and irrigated
fields were, later, incorporated into the hieroglyphic language. Being depicted
at Djedefre´s water-mountain and at Biar Jaqub, therefore, is striking
evidence that the Western desert of Egypt was one of the places where the
development of the early stages of the Hieroglyphic language took place. Hence,
the area of Djedefre´s water-mountain
and Biar Jaqub can be considered as
one of the possible birth places of the Hieroglyphic writing system. The
author believes that at the end of the Neolithic wet-phase (with the influx of drought-strikken desert dwellers)
these early rootes of Hieroglyphic writing were transfered from the Desert to
the Nile Valley.
At the end of
this manuscript the reader will find a chapter explaining the possible use of
so called Clayton-rings (conical hollow-forms of early dynastic(?) pottery with round lids and a
center “finger hole”). During his 20 years of desert research by camel the
author collected abundant proof for his thesis that Claytonring-sites can be
used as indicators for the allignement of ancient/predynastic roads across the
Libyan Desert.
Due to treachery and intrigue this manuscript got into the hands of a
fraction of the German archaeological community in Egypt which, for no obvious
reason, strictly opposes the field-work of the author (beginning the moment when he discovered the spectecular site of
Cheops-/Djedefre-expeditions southwest of Dakhla oasis.). The author has reason to believe that certain persons
in the scientific community will use and publish the substance of his
manuscript or parts thereof under their own name as well as do their utmost to
“erase” the author´s name from his discoveries. In order to counter this
affiliations the following paper (a mere preliminary report) is presented to the public ahead of the publication
of a book dealing with the same subject (of which the author´s
opponents unrightfully hold a 180 page copy).
For the time being the author is not ready to deliver
an English version. However, pictures of his finds with explanations in English
will soon be attached to the German version.
Status: May 2003
Copyright: Carlo Bergmann, June 5th, 2003
Carlo
Bergmann, P.O. Box 510553, D-50941 Köln, Germany