Quaternary Stratigraphy and Climate in the Near East

Abstract

Altough the study is primarily palaeoclimatological in scope, it has been possible to obtain an invaluable insight into the Quatemary morphology of the Near East during a private field-trip to Egjrpt and Jordan in the Winter of 1956. It was not intended to perform any specialized field investigations during this time, rather it was attempted to obtain a good perspective of the associated morphological problems and to reexamine the Sites and field-results of previous researchers. In this way the Mediterranean coastline between Sidi abd el Rahman and El Alamein, the Fayum oasis, the Nile Valley at El Badrshein, El Balyana, Qena, Luxor and Assuan, the desert Stretches between Gizah and Fayum, Cairo and Suez, as well as the lower Jordan Valley were the subject of direct personal investigations or reexaminations that were complemented by a bird's eye view of the uncomparable panorama of arid land morphology unravelled by two low-level flights over the Sinai Peninsula. Although a Supplement of my own photographs serves the purpose of illustrating much of the evidence presented, I have refrained from substituting personal observations where previous Information could not be reasonably improved within the limited time available.