roads and bridges: The Middle East GRAFFITI The graffiti along the Luxor-Farshut Road in the Western Desert is typical of what is found along ancient roadways What follows are samples of what individuals wanted to proclaim to the world Some of these proclamations are more than 5,000 years old One can find a traveler at leisure, writing, “Regnal Year 17, first month of the Shemu season, day 17: Spending the day by the scribe Monthuhotep beneath this mountain on holiday.” Another traveler was not feeling so relaxed He inscribes a letter on a rock wall requesting that the priest pray to a number of gods for his safety on the journey Pilgrimages are a common reason to travel, and pilgrims often left graffiti behind them that served as reminders to the god and proclamations to fellow travelers in the mundane world that this pious act was being performed One example: “He has made [it] as his monument at the time of his coming from the Abydene nome in order to perform rites for king Mentuhotep.” Priests also reminded both divine and mundane observers that they were present: “Made by the second prophet of Amun, Roma.” It so happens that Roma was already well known before this graffito was discovered He became the high priest of Amon (the most significant and most powerful priest in the empire) under the pharaoh Ramses II (r ca 1290–ca 1224 B.C.E.) Roma was by no means the only official to leave his mark, nor was he the most significant one That would have been “the son of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mentuhotep.” He would later become pharaoh himself The first five lines of an otherwise lost literary work were inscribed along this roadside It was in praise of an unnamed Theban ruler of the Second Intermediate Period (ca 1640–ca 1532 B.C.E.) It begins, “Oh people great and small, and the army in its entirety—behold, a man is in the City [Thebes], whose like has not been known!” Finally, a happy text greets the literate traveler, “As for the one who will read these writings, he will arrive [home] in peace.” moved from ship to ship on the river In urban areas, processional ways to temples were often paved The stones were laid directly upon the soil Typically the processional way would be from a river quay to the entrance of a temple The Ways of Horus, the royal road that led from the Nile Valley northeast through the Sinai to Palestine was the main overland route connecting Egypt to most of the significant commercial centers of the ancient world The route brought in goods from Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopota- 885 mia, and all points east Networks grew up connecting the main road to cities and villages throughout the inhabitable regions of the area The roadway had forts, which in addition to the normal duties also protected wells for travelers Way stations also dotted the route Open roads were basically areas that were cleared of rocks, which were then piled along the edges Roads to quarries were often hewn out of solid rock for some portion of the trip to the river The Egyptians had the technology to level rock surfaces, which they often used for building roads Quarry roads were typically at least 16 feet wide and occasionally were paved The need for paving was determined by the soil, which often was too sandy to haul blocks weighing multiple tons The longest quarry road was located in Lower Nubia and was some 50 miles long The oldest surviving quarry road with paving stones terminated on a quay in what used to be Lake Moeris The construction of this road consisted of virtually no leveling prior to the laying of the stones, which were placed in the soil with the largest slabs laid on the outside of the road, while smaller stones were used in the center This road was uniformly four cubits wide (ca 7.3 feet) In addition to clearing surfaces or laying paving stones on the ground, Egyptians also would make log roads, which they lubricated with mud so that sledges could be dragged along them There were officials with the titles “master of the roads” and “overseer of the masters of the roads.” An important task for these officials was the creation and maintenance of quarry roads There is virtually no mention of bridges prior to Roman domination Seti I (ca 1306–ca 1290 b.c.e.) is depicted as crossing a bridge on his way back from a Syrian campaign The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (first century b.c.e.) writes that there was a fort at each mouth of the Nile These forts were situated on both sides of the river with a bridge that had defensive installations straddling the river, but it is a claim found nowhere else THE MIDDLE EAST BY MARK ANTHONY PHELPS Routes followed by ancient peoples to traverse the land— whether for hunting or herding or some other purpose— began as simple footpaths Roads smoothed or otherwise specially prepared for transport and transit came later, typically with settled living in villages, towns, and cities No paved open roads have been discovered in the ancient Near East from the period prior to Roman domination They are described as being “dusty” in a number of sources The Gutians, invaders of Mesopotamia from modern Iran during the 22nd century b.c.e., were accused of allowing roads to be covered with weeds The Egyptian work known as the “Satirical Letter” describes roads in coastal Syria-Palestine as being covered with pebbles, weeds, and briars In the Bible roads are a place where one can hide snares, ropes, and traps Old Assyrian texts mention that trade resumes in the spring after the “opening of roads” in Anatolia, a process necessary