| Dakhla Oasis الداخلة |
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| — Oasis — | |
| Dakhla Oasis, February 1988. | |
| Nickname(s): Inner oasis | |
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Dakhla Oasis
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Governorate | New Valley Governorate |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,000 km2 (772.2 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,500 km2 (579.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 75 000 |
| • Ethnicities | Egyptians Ottomans (Qalamoun) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC+2) |
| Capital | 'Ain Basil (Balat) (c. 2500 BCE-c. 1500 BCE) Mut (c. 1500 BCE- ) |
Dakhla Oasis (Arabic: الداخلة; transliteration: al-Dākhla; BGN: Al Wāḩāt ad Dākhilah), also spelt Dakhleh and known colloquially as the inner oasis, is one of the seven oases of Egypt's Western Desert (part of the Libyan Desert). Dakhla Oasis lies in the New Valley Governorate, 350 km from the Nile and between the oases of Farafra and Kharga. It measures approximately 80 km (50 mi) from east to west and 25 km (16 mi) from north to south.[1]
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The human history of this oasis started during the Pleistocene, when nomadic tribes settled sometimes there, in a time when the Sahara climate was wetter and where humans could have access to lakes and marshes. But about 6 000 years ago, the entire Sahara became drier, changing progressively into a hyper-arid desert (with less than 50 mm of rain per year). However, specialists think that nomadic hunter-gatherers began to settle almost permanently in the oasis of Dakhleh in the period of the Holocene (about 12 000 years ago), during new, but rare episodes of wetter times.
In fact, the drier climate didn't mean that there was no more water in what is now known as the Western Desert. The south of the Libyan Desert has the most important supply of subterranean water in the world, and the first inhabitants of the Dakhla Oasis had access to surface water sources.
The first contacts between the pharaonic power and the oases started around 2550 BCE.
The fortified Islamic town of Al Qasr was built at Dakhla Oasis in the 12th century probably on the remains of a Roman era settlement by the Ayyubid kings of Egypt.[2]
The first European traveller to find the Dakhla Oasis was Sir Archibald Edmonstone, in the year 1819.[1] He was succeeded by several other early travellers, but it was not until 1908 that the first egyptologist, Herbert Winlock, visited Dakhla Oasis and noted its monuments in some systematic manner.[1] In the 1950s, detailed studies began, first by Dr. Ahmed Fakhry, and in the late 1970s, an expedition of the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale and the Dakhla Oasis Project each began detailed studies in the oasis.[1]
Dakhla Oasis consists of several communities, along a string of sub-oases. The main settlements are Mut (more fully Mut el-Kharab and anciently called Mothis), Al-Qasr, Qalamoun, together with several smaller villages. Some of the communities have identities that are separate from each other. Qalamoun has inhabitants that trace their origins to the Ottomans.
The Dakhleh Oasis Project (DOP) is a long-term study project of the Dakhleh Oasis and the surrounding palaeoasis, initiated in 1978 when the Royal Ontario Museum and the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities were awarded a joint concession for part of the Oasis.[3] In 1979, the Centre for Archaeology and Ancient History at Monash University began to cooperate in the project.[1]
The DOP studies the interaction between environmental changes and human activity in the Dakhleh Oasis. The director of the DOP is Anthony J. Mills, former curator at the Royal Ontario Museum. The excavations at Ismant el-Kharab (ancient Kellis),[4] Mut el-Kharab (ancient Mothis),[5] Deir Abu Metta and Muzawwaqa[6] are undertaken with the cooperation of Monash University, under the direction of Gillian E. Bowen. Bowen and Colin Hope, also of Monash, are the principal investigators at Ismant el-Kharab. The DOP has also excavated at 'Ain el-Gazzareen,[7] El Qasr el-Dakhil,[8] Deir el Hagar[9] and Ain Birbiyeh.[10]
As well as the Dakhleh Trust, formed in 1999 to raise money for the DOP, organizations which have supported or participated in the DOP include: the Royal Ontario Museum, the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, Monash University, the University of Durham, the University of Toronto, Columbia University, the American Research Centre in Egypt, the Egyptology Society of Victoria and New York University.
In addition, excavations are undertaken at Amheida under the direction of Roger S. Bagnall. These were originally conducted under the auspices of Columbia University, but are currently conducted for New York University.[11]
The Dakhleh Trust was formed in 1999 and is a registered charity in Britain.
Its declared aim is to advance understanding of the history of the environment and cultural evolution throughout the Quaternary period in the eastern Sahara, and particularly in the Dakhla Oasis.
To this end, the present trustees have committed themselves to supporting the DOP.
| Name | Personal details | Office |
|---|---|---|
| John Ruffle MA | Retired museum curator and Egyptologist | Chairman |
| Judith Trowell | Treasurer | |
| Sir Graham Boyce KCMG | ||
| Glenys Carter MBE | Retired director, National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries | |
| Simon deMare | Museologist | |
| Anthony Harris | ||
| Peter Mackenzie-Smith | Managing director, Prothero Limited |
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