Giza Plataeu

The Giza Plateau Mapping Project (2003) in Egypt, directed by Mark Lehner of AERA and sponsored by The National Geographic Society, employed electromagnetic induction surveys over 200 acres. Collaborating with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the project aimed to map near-surface landscapes and buried features, including Menkaure's Quarry and the hypothesized harbor system from Egypt's Fourth Dynasty, using approximately 785,000 data points.

Giza Plateau Mapping Project (2003)
Giza, Egypt
Client: Ancient Egyptian Research Associates (AERA)
Directed by: Mark Lehner from Ancient Egyptian Research Associates (AERA)
Collaboration with: Supreme Council of Antiquities
Sponsored by: The National Geographic Society

Tremaine & Associates carried out electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys on the Giza Plateau over five days in September 2003. This work, part of a geophysical pilot study, covered over 200 acres (68 linear miles), resulting in the acquisition of ~785,000 data points.

The aim was to map the near-surface landscape and buried features within six areas of interest, including:
Menkaure’s Quarry and Central Wadi
The Southern Highlands
Menkaure Valley Temple (MVT) and Khentkawes Town (KKT)
Heit el-Ghurab (HeG) and the Worker’s Complex in the southern flood plain
The Wall of the Crow (WOC) and parking lot at the mouth of the Wadi
The Mena Golf Course in the northern flood plain

Goals:
Identify potential buried structural remains (e.g., tombs and buildings)
Identify broader landscape features, geomorphological or terraforming
Special interest in delineating a hypothesized harbor system (which provided access from an ancient branch of the Nile westward to the Giza plateau during Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty (c.2613 to 2494 BC) when the three pyramids were constructed).

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