ON THE CLIMATE OP EGYPT IN ANCIENT TIMES. 10 i 



19 feet at Cairo, and only 4 feet at Damietta and Rosetta ; 

 but in ancient times with a greater rainfall and a fuller river 

 these figures would have to be considerably higher. We have 

 seen that reclaiming the Delta was a very gradual process, 

 and even at the present time the Government is draining 

 the swamps and lakes to make the land available for cultiva- 

 tion ; and reclamation must proceed as long as the Nilt^ 

 continues to briug down such large deposits of alluvium from 

 Abyssinia and Central Africa, Formerly, the Delta swamps 

 formed an inaccessible hiding-place for culprits, refugee kings 

 and their followers ; and they were also the h.ome of the 

 plague, pestilence, and other serious forms of disease recorded 

 in history; or at least favoured their propagation when im- 

 ported. The rainfall in the Delta for oO miles inland is now as 

 much as 10 to 12 inches arniually, influenced in some measure, 

 no doubt, by the large salt marshes and lakes lying across 

 the 160 miles of Mediterranean front: viz., Mareotis, near 

 Alexandria, covering 250,000 acres; Edko 100,000 acres; 

 Burlos 300,000 acres ; Aboukir 50,000 acres ; Menzaleh 

 500,000 acres, and Sirbonis near the Palestine frontier, 

 100,000 acres. 



Most of these lakes did not exist in comparatively ancient 

 times, for the districts now covered by them were richly 

 cultivated, and supported a numerous population. Lake 

 Menzaleh was formerly a district celebrated for its fertility, 

 but in 535 a.d., the sea broke in and submerged the eastern 

 jiortion, and by 540 A.D. the whole of this region was totally 

 under water, so that all the towns on the low levels were 

 destroyed by submergence, and only those that were built on 

 the high grounds escaped ; but even they became so malarious 

 and unhealthy that after a time they were abandoned. Besides, 

 the country around that was not submerged became swampy, 

 unhealthy, and ruined for agricultural purposes just as it is 

 to-day, so that the population in this region has ever since 

 remained scanty. 



The present Lake Mareotis was originally a small sweet 

 water lake, surrounded by a famous vine-growing district, 

 celebrated in ancient times for its fertility and salubrity ; but 

 in 1801 A.D., the sea Avas intentionally let in for military 

 purposes, and thus the whole district was entirely destroyed 

 and converted into a malarious environment of Alexandria, 

 which otherwise would be a much healthier city than it has 

 been ever since this regrettable event. 



About the beginning of the Christian era, Lake Sirbonis 



