The Africa Unit held a special lecture titled “A Garden in the Desert: Recent Excavation at the Bent Pyramid of Dahshur, Egypt” at the Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall.
In collaboration with Cairo Research Station of Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS), the Africa Unit invited Dr. Felix Arnold, a senior researcher from the German Archaeological Research Institute of Madrid. On behalf of the Unit, Prof. Masayoshi Shigeta participated the event joined by Prof. Naoko Fukami, Director of the Cairo Research Station, and Prof. Nozomu Kawai, an archaeologist from Institute for New Science and Innovative Research, Kanazawa University. Even though the lecture was in English, there were more than 20 participants showing their high level of academic interest in ancient Egypt.
Dr. Arnold introduced in detail the excavation survey of the bent pyramid carried out by the German Archaeological Research Institute. The survey revealed that the bent pyramid and its accompanying temple were part of a larger landscape plan, and that the dead valley of the desert was artificially expanded. There was even a port built near the temple that was far from the green space. In addition to a shrine made of sand bricks and surrounded by gardens, there were more than 300 trees planted along the side of the temple, such as palm trees, horned maples and cypress imported from Lebanon. The result of physical exploration also revealed an outline of the town where the priests who served in the temple lived.
This special lecture was a good opportunity to show a broadening range of academic activities conducted by the Africa Unit.
Dr. Felix Arnold Participants of the lecture
