moved from ship to ship on the river. In urban areas, proces-
sional ways to temples were oft en paved. Th e stones were laid
directly upon the soil. Typically the processional way would
be from a river quay to the entrance of a temple.
Th e 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 signifi cant
commercial centers of the ancient world. Th e route brought
in goods from Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopota-
mia, and all points east. Networks grew up connecting the
main road to cities and villages throughout the inhabitable
regions of the area. Th e 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
oft en hewn out of solid rock for some portion of the trip to the
river. Th e Egyptians had the technology to level rock surfaces,
which they oft en used for building roads. Quarry roads were
typically at least 16 feet wide and occasionally were paved.
Th e need for paving was determined by the soil, which oft en
was too sandy to haul blocks weighing multiple tons. Th e lon-
gest quarry road was located in Lower Nubia and was some
50 miles long. Th e oldest surviving quarry road with paving
stones terminated on a quay in what used to be Lake Moeris.
Th e construction of this road consisted of virtually no lev-
eling 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. Th is road was
uniformly four cubits wide (ca. 7.3 feet). In addition to clear-
ing 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. Th ere were offi -
cials with the titles “master of the roads” and “overseer of the
masters of the roads.” An important task for these offi cials
was the creation and maintenance of quarry roads.
Th ere 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.
Th e Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (fi rst century b.c.e.)
writes that there was a fort at each mouth of the Nile. Th ese
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, typi-
cally 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. Th ey
are described as being “dusty” in a number of sources. Th e
Gutians, invaders of Mesopotamia from modern Iran dur-
ing the 22nd century b.c.e., were accused of allowing roads
to be covered with weeds. Th e 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
aft er the “opening of roads” in Anatolia, a process necessaryThe graffi ti along the Luxor-Farshut Road in the
Western Desert is typical of what is found along an-
cient 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 fi nd a traveler at leisure, writing, “Reg-
nal Year 17, fi rst 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 graffi ti 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 hap-
pens that Roma was already well known before this
graffi to was discovered. He became the high priest of
Amon (the most signifi cant and most powerful priest
in the empire) under the pharaoh Ramses II (r. ca.
1290 – c a. 1224 B.C.E.). Roma was by no means the
only offi cial to leave his mark, nor was he the most
signifi cant one. That would have been “the son of the
king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mentuhotep.” He
would later become pharaoh himself.
The fi rst fi ve 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 be-
gins, “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.”GRAFFITI
roads and bridges: The Middle East 885