Learn more about the geography and importance of the Faiyum.
The Faiyum Oasis is an enormous basin in the Western Desert that formed from the Nile's overflow. As such, it is not considered a true oasis, though it gives its name to the region, which covers Lake Moeris.
The oasis harbors some of the oldest archaeological artifacts of the region, indicating that the area has been inhabited by hunters and gatherers since the Neolithic period.
The Faiyum Oasis drains into Lake Moeris, which was a large freshwater lake but at some time became a saltwater lake.
In the 12th Dynasty, ancient Egyptians redirected the water flow with a damn and dug a supply canal using the lake as their reservoir.
Irrigation enabled them to continue growing crops of figs, grapes and olives year round.
Reed boats, feluccas, triremes and kerkouros were the most commonly found craft within the land-locked waters of Egypt.
They were used for various purposes, ranging from daily fishing, trade, warfare and travel, to the ferrying of massive stone blocks used to build the great monuments of Egypt.
The most impressive pyramids of ancient Egypt date from the Old Kingdom, and can be found on the sites of Giza, Saqqara and Dahshur.
However, one particularly famous pyramid of the time is located elsewhere. During the Middle Kingdom, some pharaohs chose the Faiyum as their resting place. One such ruler was Amenemhat III.
His pyramid left a mark on the imagination of antique chroniclers. They referred to it as the Labyrinth, mostly due to the vast mortuary temple complex at the foot of the pyramid. Herodotus mentioned that he had visited 12 courts and over 3000 of its chambers. But he was also well known for being prone to hyperbole.
(Behind the scenes)
Amenemhat's pyramid was built with a brick core and covered with stone slabs, designed to be impenetrable. The burial chamber, made out of a single block of sandsone, is unique in its design.
Richard Lepsius and Flinders Petrie both explored the pyramid site, measuring 385m by 158m, and identified as the location of the Labyrinth.
Their research conditions were difficult, as most of the site had been submerged by the nearby canal. Furthermore, the stones from the complex and the outer casing of the pyramid had been quarried away long ago.
Founded during the 5th Dynasty, the site was popular during the 12th Dynasty, under the name of Shedet.
During the Ptolemaic era, the metropolis was named Krokodilopolis by the Greeks, in honor of the crocodile god Sobek.
During the Greco-Roman era, the cleruchs, soldiers of the Ptolemies, settled there after their military service and expanded the irrigation systems. Irrigation and water distribution tripled the arable land and turned the city into a lush and rich area. 27 000 inhabitants lived its precinct at its height.
The region's main cult was that of Sobek of Shedet, a divinity assocaited with water and fertility, both very important to an area that depended on irrigation.
Many local villagers had the title "Town of Sobek" added to their official designations.
During festivals, ancient Egyptians recited hymns to Sobek, asking for his divine intervention.
Greek settlers, and later Romans, would help the Temple of Sobek's economy to flourish by adopting the local embalming mortuary rites. Their sarcophagi were beautifully painted, and adorned with amazingly realistic portraits.
Very similar to the cult of the Apis Bull in Memphis, a living crocodile was worshipped within the predicinct of Krokodilopolis's main temple.
Known as Sobek to the Egyptians, and Soukhos to the Greeks, it was reported by Strabo that priests fed it with meat, wine and honeyed milk.
They covered its body with jewel and gold. After its death, it was embalmed and placed within the Crocodiles' Grotto, alongside thousands of other mummified crocodiles.