Built in the Middle Ages by Sultan Saladin, the citadel is still one of Cairo’s outstanding sights. Now archaeologists have uncovered parts of a complex hydraulic system that supplied this citadel with water. It includes several deep pools as well as scoops that once transported water to higher levels and connected Saladin’s citadel with an aqueduct. According to the archaeologists, this find is one of the most important for the infrastructure of historic Cairo.
When the Kurdish-born, Sunni Sultan Saladin (Salah ad-Din) took control of Egypt in 1171, he not only initiated religious and political reforms. He also expanded the fortifications of the city of Cairo and had a city wall and a citadel built. The complex, completed in 1207, is located on a hill southeast of today’s city center of Cairo and is still preserved today. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For several years, an Egyptian-French archaeological team has been carrying out excavations in two areas on the castle plateau directly adjacent to the citadel, Arab al-Yasar and Al-Hattaba.
Well shafts, scoop wheels and canals
Now the Egyptian Antiquities Authority is reporting new finds from these excavations, including an important part of the citadel’s hydraulic infrastructure. In the Arab al-Yasar area, archaeologists discovered an integrated water supply system from the time of Saladin or his immediate successors. The system consists of two well shafts made of massive stone blocks, which reach ten and eight meters deep and were probably connected to deeper cisterns at their lower end, according to Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary General of the Antiquities Authority.
At the upper edge of the two well shafts there was a complex system of scoop wheels and channels. Four rotating water wheels transported water up from the shafts and channeled it into a network of stone channels. These transported the water into the citadel. Another canal led west towards the Sultan’s stables. “This discovery is of great importance because it reveals for the first time details of an important part of the hydraulic system that connected the citadel to the Magra El Oyoun aqueduct,” says El-Leithy. This is one of the most important finds in the context of this aqueduct, adds excavation director Mohamed Ibrahim from Ain Shams University in Cairo.
From the Nile via an aqueduct to the citadel
The Magra El Oyoun Aqueduct, which began in Saladin’s time and was expanded under the Mamluk rule that began around 80 years later, conveyed Nile water via a system of canals and hydraulic systems from the river over the city wall to the citadel plateau. But historical sources have so far lacked a description of the part of the medieval water supply system that has now been discovered. From initial archaeological and architectural investigations, archaeologists conclude that some of the newly discovered structures date back to Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun. He ruled over Egypt from 1293 and is considered the most important ruler of this dynasty.
According to archaeologists, these finds underscore how advanced urban planning and engineering was during Cairo’s early Islamic era. “The discoveries are important evidence of the development of infrastructure and water management in historic Cairo,” says El-Leithy. This now opens up new approaches to research the different stages of this unique engineering achievement.
Mamluk mosque and tombs
The archaeologists also came across new finds in the second excavation area, Al-Hattaba. Among other things, they discovered the relics of a mosque from the Mamluk period. “The finds include the prayer hall and prayer niche, parts of the southwestern archway and the original stone floor,” reports Diaa Zahran from the Egyptian Antiquities Authority. The team also uncovered a burial chamber and several tombs from different time periods, including a tomb from the early Islamic era. Also in this excavation area, the team discovered numerous vessels, everyday objects, jewelry, coins and weapon parts from the 18th and 19th centuries.
All finds were mapped photogrammetrically, digitized and prepared for further investigation, as the archaeologists report. In her view, the new discoveries document that historic Cairo still contains numerous unrecognized traces of the past that need to be found and preserved.