Map 75 Memphis-Oxyrhynchus Compiled by R. Müller-Wollermann, 1995 Introduction Both the ancient evidence for the region covered by the map, and modern exploration of it, are uneven, not least because of wide disparities in the archaeological and written materials available for different districts. The southern part as far as the approach to the Fayum (i.e., the northern section of the Hermopolite nome, together with the Oxyrhynchite, Kynopolite and Herakleopolite nomes) has been explored by surveys, so that considerable numbers of archaeological sites are known. Even so, there has been little actual excavation of post-Pharaonic sites here. The reverse is true for the Arsinoite nome, where only limited survey work has been done so far, but more excavations have been conducted. For the northernmost part of the Nile valley covered by the map (the area of the Aphroditopolite and Memphite nomes), there has been neither extensive survey nor (with the one exception of Memphis) significant excavation for the Greek and Roman periods. On the philological side, the pattern is again varied. The Oxyrhynchite and Arsinoite nomes have yielded large numbers of Greek papyri and ostraca, and a fair quantity of inscriptions have come from the Arsinoite too. Papyrological finds from the other nomes covered here are less extensive, but still very considerable. There are many inscriptions from Tenis he kai Hakoreos in the northern Hermopolite nome, and some papyrus archives from the same region. The Herakleopolite nome has produced numerous papyri, although many were lost in 1899 when a ship carrying German excavation-finds caught fire. Documentation for the Memphite region in the Ptolemaic period is very strong. In addition to the comprehensive collection of Egyptian toponyms by Calderini-Daris (C-D), more specific compilations of toponyms have been made for the Oxyrhynchite (Pruneti 1981) and Hermopolite nomes (Drew-Bear 1979). Falivene (1998) is a similar work for the Herakleopolite nome. No comprehensive work on the toponyms of the Arsinoite nome has been published since Wessely (1904) and the list at the back of Grenfell (1907). Most of the numerous named sites, mainly villages and hamlets, are still unlocatable, but the map shows the progress made to date. A particular problem arises from the existence of homonymous toponyms, as in the case of Sobthis and its derivates, modern Saft; the various occurrences of such place names frequently defy assignment to specific locations with any certainty. Considerable further work has been done on the relative location of villages known from the papyri, resulting in a sort of notional geography not yet fully linked to known modern places. Naturally, these villages cannot be shown on the map, but the reader wanting a fuller picture of what is known of the administrative geography of the region may consult Sheridan (1998) for the Hermopolite nome, Krüger (1990) and Rowlandson (1996) for the Oxyrhynchite, and Rathbone (1996) for the Arsinoite. Because the number of toponyms not yet identifiable with a modern location is so large, only the more important ones appear in the list of unlocated toponyms; the others can easily be found in the reference works cited. The map retains the modern course of the Nile. In antiquity the river may have run somewhat to the west of its present course (Butzer 1976), though the shift would hardly be noticeable on a map at this scale. In fact, however, no systematic survey work has been done to establish the ancient course clearly, and even if it were known with greater precision for any one period, further shifting is still likely to have occurred during the timespan covered by the map. There is a similar problem with the Tomis fl. (Bahr Yusuf) and the waterways in the Fayum, whose beds may also have shifted. In general, the map shows only those waterways which may with some confidence be considered ancient; it omits subsidiary canals likely to be of more modern construction. The lakes in the Fayum have given rise to considerable controversy. The very identification of the ancient Lake Moeris with the modern Birket Qarun (Evans 1991), which is adopted here, has been thought inconsistent with some statements in the ancient sources. The strongest advocate of this doubt is Garbrecht (1990), who argues that 1126 MAP 75 MEMPHIS-OXYRHYNCHUS the ancient wall visible in the south-east of the Fayum was the dam of an artificial lake to be identified as Lake Moeris. To date, this view has not won wide acceptance. The water-level of the Birket Qarun, once much higher than at present, was deliberately reduced in ancient times in order to extend the area of cultivated land in the Fayum. The principal means of reduction was control of the inflow to the Fayum from the Bahr Yusuf. There has been much debate about the precise history of this shrinkage of the lake, but recent work (Davoli 1998) has shown that the level in the Roman period was similar to the modern level, with subsequent periods of expansion and contraction. The lake is thus shown on the map at its modern extent. Rathbone’s survey in the Gharaq basin (1996) convincingly demonstrated that there were three lakes of notable size south of Lake Moeris, not just two. The third is the easternmost of those shown; remains of it can still be seen today. Directory All place names are in Egypt Abbreviation Timm S. Timm, Das christlich-koptische Ägypten in arabischer Zeit, 6 vols., TAVO Beihefte B 41, Wiesbaden, 1984-92 Names Grid Name Period Modern Name / Location Reference C2 Ain el-Rayan el-Bahariya R Fakhry 1947, 8-9 C2 Ain el-Rayan el-Wastaniya RL Fakhry 1947, 7-19 E1 Akanthonpolis RL Kafr Ammar / Kafr C-D 1.1, 40-41; C-D Suppl. 1, 14 Tarkhan D4 Alabastronpolis/ HR/ el-Kom el-Ahmar / Drew-Bear 1979, 56-61 Alabastrine RL el-Hafin D3 Alilais? HR Hilliya Falivene 1998, 46 D2 Andrianton HR N Biyahmu C-D 1.2, 33 D3 Ankyronpolis HRL el-Hiba Falivene 1998, 39-43 E2 Aphrodito(polis) HRL Atfih C-D 1.2, 292-97 E2 Aphroditopolites Nomos HRL C-D 1.2, 415-21 E3 Arabikon Oros CHRL Arabian desert Hdt. 2.8; C-D 1.2, 183 D2 Argaitidos (Diorux) HR Abdalla Wahbi canal C-D 1.2, 191-93 ’Αργαῖτις; C-D Suppl. 1, 54 D2 Arsinoites/ HRL/ RE Krokodeilopolites Krokodeilopolites Nomos HR D3 Artapatou RL Burtubat el-Gebel Gomaà 1991, 99, 228 E1 Bakchias HRL Kom el-Atl C-D 2, 22-30; C-D Suppl. 1, 75-76; C-D Suppl. 2, 33; Davoli 1998, 117-37 D4 Berky RL Kom el-Rahib Gomaà 1991, 97, 222 G4 Bir Hawashiya R Sidebotham 1997, 224, 226-29, 231; 1998, 355 E2 Boubastos HRL Kom el-Kharaba el-Saghir C-D 2, 60-61; C-D Suppl. 1, 84; C-D Suppl. 2, 37 E2 Bousiris HRL Abu Sir el-Meleq Falivene 1998, 60-64 D4 Chysis HRL Shusha Drew-Bear 1979, 322-26; Gomaà 1991, 97 C2 Dionysias HRL Qasr Qarun C-D 2, 107-10; C-D Suppl. 1, 96; C-D Suppl. 2, 44-45; Davoli 1998, 301-23 MAP 75 MEMPHIS-OXYRHYNCHUS 1127 Grid Name Period Modern Name / Location Reference D1 Epagathiane (Diorux) R waterway between Kom C-D 2, 150-51 Awshim and Dima D4 Ereithis RL Rida Drew-Bear 1979, 100-101 Euergetis = Kynopolis D2 Euhemereia HRL Qasr el-Banat C-D 2, 184-88; C-D Suppl. 1, 116-17; C-D Suppl. 2, 57; Davoli 1998, 295-99 D3 Fenchi? R el-Fant Gomaà 1991, 89, 205 D4 Gabbanet el-Mitlaq HR Kessler 1981, 21 D3 el-Gamhud HR Gomaà 1991, 232-33 E3 Gebel el-Nur HRL Gomaà 1991, 184 D4 Gebel el-Teir el-Qibli R Kessler 1981, 67 D4 Hakis L Tahnasha Drew-Bear 1979, 55-56 D2 Haueris HR Hawwaret el-Maqta C-D 1.2, 269-70; C-D Suppl. 1, 69 D2 Herakleidou Meris HRL C-D 2, 210-15; C-D Suppl. 1, 126-27; C-D Suppl. 2, 62-63 D2 Herakleopolis HRL Ihnasya el-Medina RE 3; C-D 2, 220-24 ‛Ηρακλέους πόλις; C-D Suppl. 1, 128-29; C-D Suppl. 2, 63 D3 Herakleopolites Nomos HRL C-D 2, 217-19; C-D Suppl. 1, 128; C-D Suppl. 2, 63; Falivene 1998 D4 Hermopolites Nomos HRL C-D 2, 161-63; C-D Suppl. 1, 111-12; C-D Suppl. 2, 54 G1 Heroopoliticus Sinus See Map 76 D3 Hipponon/ RL/ Ezbet Qarara C-D 3, 32-33; C-D Suppl. 2, 80; Phylake Hipponos RL Falivene 1998, 92-93 D3 Hwt-nsw HRL el-Kom el-Ahmar / Gomaà 1991, 75-76 Sharuna Hypsele = Peme D4 Ibion RL Ibwan el-Zabadi Gomaà 1991, 82 D2 Ibion Eikosipentarouron? HRL Kom Madi C-D 3, 10-11; C-D Suppl. 1, 152; C-D Suppl. 2, 76; Davoli 1998, 253-63 D3 Isieion Kato RL Ezbet Bushra Hanna C-D 3, 35; C-D Suppl. 1, 159; Gomaà 1991, 207 D1 Karanis HRL Kom Awshim C-D 3, 70-79; C-D Suppl. 1, 165-67; C-D Suppl. 2, 88; Davoli 1998, 73-116 D2 Kella H Qilla Falivene 1998, 99-100 D2 Kelol L el-Ga'afira Timm 6, 2903 E2 Kerke HRL Girza C-D 3, 111; C-D Suppl. 1, 171; C-D Suppl. 2, 93 D2 Kerkeosiris HR el-Gharaq Crawford 1971; C-D 3, 101-104; C-D Suppl. 2, 92-93 D2 Kerkethoeris? HRL Kom el-Khamsin C-D 3, 99; Davoli 1998, 265-66 D2 Kharabat Deir el-Halin HRL Davoli 1998, 267 E2 Kom Abu Khalid R Gomaà 1991, 221 D3 el-Kom el-Ahmar HR Gomaà 1991, 238 (Dishasha) D4 el-Kom el-Ahmar (Hihya) R Kessler 1981, 21 D2 Kom Medinet Ghuran HPetrie1891 D2 Kom Medinet Ghurab HRL Davoli 1998, 217-22 D4 Kom Namrud HR Leclant 1983, 488 E2 Koma HRL Qiman el-Arus Falivene 1998, 109-12 D2 Kos HRL Qai Gomaà 1991, 95 Krokodeilopolites Nomos = Arsinoites Nomos D2 Krokodilopolis/ CHRL/ Medinet el-Fayyum RE Krokodeilon 2; Davoli 1998, 149-59 Ptolemais Euergetis HR § Arsinoe? HRL RE Arsinoë 3; C-D Suppl.