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Howdy folks, Dominic here, with a quick epilogue to the most recent episode. This is a part of the

climate history of the late Old Kingdom

that doesn't necessarily directly connect to the fall of the royal household, but it's an interesting

feature of the archaeological evidence that is coming out in recent decades. It concerns rain,

a period of frequent torrential downpours that afflicted the Nile Valley

during the 4th, 5th, and 6th dynasties. There is a widespread public interest and a lot of misunderstanding

about just how wet Old Kingdom Egypt actually was, so I've put together this short discussion to help introduce the topic.

I hope you enjoy.

Archaeologists working in northern Egypt have uncovered evidence for a period of torrential

rainstorms and frequent downpours across several generations of history. One excavation at Giza

has been working on the city of the pyramid builders at a site known commonly as Hed El Gurab,

or the Wall of the Crow.

Here, there seems to be sediment evidence for flash floods, bringing mud and dirt down into the settlement area.

These downpours seem to occur every four to five years, and looking at the stratigraphy of the site,

archaeologists can observe that the city suffered major damage on, quote,

at least three or four occasions. In some areas, sections of the site or settlement

were even swept away, dislodged and cut through by water that flowed down from the plateau.

...