Oldest waterpipe unearthed in Egypt
Egypt, History, 1/21/1999

An Austrian archaeologist disclosed that he has unearthed the oldest aqueduct of its kind in Egypt in the Nile Delta, the Chinese news agency XINHUA reported on Thursday, quoting the Egyptian Gazette newspaper.

Manfred Bietak told reporters that the 3,500-year-old water channel, half a meter in diameter, was discovered during excavations beneath an ancient royal citadel in Tell El-Daba'a in the east of the Nile delta.

Bietak, head of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo, described the finding as "sensational," saying it was the only known pre-Roman example of such an underground water channel.

"The waterpipe is very well built with covers and inspection shafts," he said, adding that inscriptions are still visible at some points.

In theory, the channel was built to carry water from the Nile to the Palace of the Hyksos, who ruled in Egypt from about 1640 B.C. to 1530 B.C.

Bietak said his team were now trying to trace the course of the aqueduct to the palace.

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