Gebel Ramlah is a region in the Western Desert of southern Egypt that was occupied throughout the African Pastoral Neolithic. Archaeological research has focused primarily on individual burial sites and six pastoral cemeteries, including the earliest known infant cemetery in the world. The Gebel Ramlah cemeteries were active during the Final Neolithic in the fifth millennium BC. Ongoing excavation has uncovered over 200 human burials and elaborate grave goods. Research studies have been done on the pottery, mollusk shells, archaeobotanical remains, and skeletal remains found throughout the sites.
Excavation
Archaeological excavation began at Gebel Ramlah in 2001, under the Combined Prehistoric Expedition (CPE) group, which has done archaeological work throughout the south Western Desert in Egypt since the 1970s. CPE was founded by Fred Wendorf, and since his retirement has been directed by Romuald Schild. Both have been involved in archaeological work at Gebel Ramlah and directly associated sites in the region.
Gebel Ramlah was first discovered in 2000 by polish archaeologist Michał Kobusiewicz, and excavation of the first three cemeteries was done in 2001 and 2003. The excavations were led by Kobusiewicz, alongside fellow archaeologists Jacek Kabacinski and Joel D. Irish. These cemeteries were the first Neolithic cemeteries found in the Western Desert, and thus the earliest known in the region. They are known by their site names E-01-2, E-03-1 and E-03-2.
In 2008, the signs of another cemetery were spotted by archaeologist Marta Osypinska. The location was excavated during a 2009 CPE field season, by Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny and Jacek Kabacinski. It was confirmed to be another cemetery, site E-09-4. Two other cemeteries were also excavated during this 2009 field season at Gebel Ramlah, both under the site name E-09-02 (one of these being the unique Gebel Ramlah infant cemetery). These too were discovered and excavated by Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny and Jacek Kabaciński and their CPE team.
Excavation of various individual burial sites and habitation sites from throughout the Neolithic have also been excavated by CPE teams at Gebel Ramlah since its discovery, but research and publication on these sites is limited. One habitation site was excavated alongside the associated cemetery sites in 2001.
Environment
Archaeologists working at Gebel Ramlah and other Western Desert sites use a four period system to categorize the human occupations of the region during the African Humid Period. Geological research has found evidence for unique climatic and environmental variations within each of these humid phases, as well as dry periods between them.
Early Neolithic - ca. 9300-6150 BC
Middle Neolithic - ca. 6050-5550 BC
Late Neolithic - ca. 5500-4650 BC
Final Neolithic - ca. 4600-3600 BC
Gebel Ramlah, or "sandy mountain", is located in the south of Egypt's Western Desert, near the Sudanese border. It is a 100 meter high hill, overlooking a playa directly to its south. During the intermittent humid periods of the African Neolithic, the desert playa was filled with water and fostered a lush savanna landscape. Human occupation at Gebel Ramlah revolved around this paleo-lake. Evidence of habitation on the edges of the paleo-lake suggest that human settlements relied on the lake and its resources throughout the Neolithic. These individuals were responsible for the extensive burials of Gebel Ramlah, with all of its known burial and cemetery sites within a kilometer of the lake shore. Dating of some material from the most recent upper levels of settlement areas matches the Final Neolithic timeline of the cemeteries.
Stratigraphic and geologic studies in the Gebel Ramlah playa indicate that around 6050 BC (marking the start of the Middle Neolithic), a major climatic shift left the regional landscape semi-desertified. Bodies of water were shrinking, and vegetation suffered. Therefore, people could no longer rely solely on hunting and intensive gathering for subsistence. It was at this point that pastoralism was likely adopted as a widespread means for subsistence in the playa region. This semi-arid climate continued until the end of the Final Neolithic in the region, at which point intensifying desertification drove inhabitants out.