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As a full-time researcher, Litmaps has become an indispensable tool in my arsenal. The Seed Maps and Discover features of Litmaps have transformed my literature review process, streamlining the identification of key citations while revealing previously overlooked relevant literature, ensuring no crucial connection goes unnoticed. A true game-changer indeed!

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Using Litmaps for my research papers has significantly improved my workflow. Typically, I start with a single paper related to my topic. Whenever I find an interesting work, I add it to my search. From there, I can quickly cover my entire Related Work section.

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As a person who is an early researcher and identifies as dyslexic, I can say that having research articles laid out in the date vs cite graph format is much more approachable than looking at a standard database interface. I feel that the maps Litmaps offers lower the barrier of entry for researchers by giving them the connections between articles spaced out visually. This helps me orientate where a paper is in the history of a field. Thus, new researchers can look at one of Litmap's "seed maps" and have the same information as hours of digging through a database.

Baylor Fain

Postdoctoral Associate – University of Florida

3 Innovative Literature Mapping Tools for Citation Maps 

In the ever-evolving landscape of academic research, navigating through vast amounts of literature can be daunting. Enter innovative literature mapping tools, packed with unique features.

They simplify and revolutionise the way researchers interact with scientific literature, enhancing the efficiency and depth of literature reviews.

Let’s dive into how these tools are reshaping the approach to academic research.

Innovative Literature Mapping Tools

What is a literature mapping tool.

A citation mapping tool is a game-changer. Think of it as a detective tool that uncovers the intricate web of connections within scientific literature.

These tools visualise citation relationships, creating a citation map or literature map that guides you through the complex maze of scholarly papers.

One popular example is Inciteful, offering innovative literature mapping tools that not only track citation links but also analyse the context of the citation, revealing direct citation relationships and co-citation networks.

Imagine you have a ‘seed paper,’ a starting point in your literature review. A literature mapping tool then take this seed paper and branch out, finding papers:

• That cite it (direct citation relationships) or
• Those that share a thematic connection (co-citation). 

This forms a citation tree or network, showing you not just one paper but a cluster of similar papers, interconnected by their citation relationships.

More modern citation mapping tool also integrated AI. They not only map out citation relationships but also delve into the citation context or sentiment, offering a richer, more nuanced understanding of how papers are interconnected. 

Litmaps is a cutting-edge citation mapping tool that offers a unique approach to visualising the connections in scientific literature.

It’s designed to simplify and enhance the process of conducting a literature review, especially for researchers looking to map out the citation landscape of a specific topic.

At its core, Litmaps lets you visualise citation relationships in a dynamic, interactive manner. It works by creating a literature map that shows how different papers are connected through citations. 

You start with a ‘seed paper,’ and Litmaps builds a citation network around it, by:

• Identifying seminal papers,
• similar papers, and 
• Other papers that cite your chosen article.

This is particularly helpful for understanding the context and development of research in a given field.

One of the key features of Litmaps is its ability to create a citation tree. This tree not only shows direct citation relationships but also highlights co-citations. This gives you a deeper insight into how ideas and research are interconnected.

In terms of visualisation, Litmaps excels. It uses a similarity graph, not just a standard citation graph, to display connections.

This means you’re seeing a more nuanced representation of the literature, based on the similarity metric of papers, rather than just citation counts.

Litmaps also allows for a high level of customisation. You can filter papers based on:

• The number of citations,
• Publication date, and even
• Specific keywords.

This makes it a highly flexible tool for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

Litmaps also have a more user-friendly interface, and additional features like tracking the latest papers on a specific topic or a random set of systematic reviews.

Inciteful is an innovative literature mapping tool that stands out in the field of academic research for its unique approach to visualizing citation networks.

This tool is designed to make the process of literature review more intuitive and insightful, especially for researchers and scholars delving into new or complex fields.

When you use Inciteful, you start by selecting a ‘seed paper’. From this single paper, Inciteful creates a citation network, branching out to reveal not only papers that cite your chosen article but also those that are contextually related through co-citation and citation relationships.

This forms a comprehensive citation map, allowing you to see how various research pieces interconnect.

A standout feature of Inciteful is its visualization capabilities. The tool presents a citation graph, where each node represents a paper, and connecting lines indicate citation links.

This visualization helps you grasp the structure of scientific discourse in a field, revealing seminal papers, emerging trends, and key authors. You can then filter and sort papers based on keywords, number of citations, or publication date.

Inciteful isn’t just about numbers of citations; it delves deeper. The tool analyzes the context of citations, bringing to light the sentiment and relevance of each citation relationship.

This adds an extra layer of depth to your literature review, offering insights that go beyond traditional citation counting. Inciteful Incorporates metadata from various sources like:

• Google Scholar,
• Web of Science, and
• Microsoft Academic

Inciteful also ensures that its citation network is rich and current. The tool also supports importing bibliographic data in BibTeX format, making it flexible and adaptable to various research needs.

This makes Inciteful not just a powerful research tool but also a highly customizable one, suited for everything from quick overviews to in-depth systematic reviews.

Connected Papers

Connected Papers is a cool literature mapping tool that offers researchers and scholars an intuitive way to explore the citation network of a specific paper or topic.

It stands out compared to the other mapping tools for its user-friendly design and effective visualisation techniques.

Connected Papers takes a ‘seed paper’ of your choice, then generates a citation graph based on the seed paper, producing a visual network that displays how this paper is connected to others through direct citations and co-citations.

This network reveals the most relevant papers, showing you the ‘big picture’ of research trends and developments related to your topic.

The citation graph in Connected Papers isn’t just a simple map; it’s a detailed visualisation tool. Each node represents a paper, and the lines between them indicate citation relationships.

This visualisation allows you to easily identify:

• Research papers,
• Citations, and even 
• Emerging trends in the field.

You can see at a glance which papers are most cited and how they interlink, providing a comprehensive overview of the scientific landscape.

Connected Papers uses metadata and bibliographic information from databases like Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Microsoft Academic. This ensures that the citation network you’re exploring is both extensive and up-to-date.

It also supports importing data in BibTeX format, making it versatile for different research needs.

This tool is particularly valuable for researchers who are looking to map out the landscape of a new or complex field. It helps in identifying related papers that might not be immediately obvious, providing a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Literature Review Made Easy, With Citation Map Tools

Litmaps, Inciteful, and Connected Papers represent the forefront of academic research tools, each bringing a unique approach to literature mapping.

They empower researchers with advanced visualisation, comprehensive citation networks, and user-friendly interfaces, making literature reviews more efficient and insightful.

As the landscape of scientific research continues to grow, these tools are invaluable allies in navigating and understanding the complex web of academic knowledge.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

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Finding & Citing Maps

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Citing cartographic resources

Citing Maps, Atlases, Aerial Photographs

Citing your sources is a fundamental part of scholarly research. Maps can be either primary or secondary sources, and they can be used in conjunction with books, articles, archival materials, to perform scholarly research. If you use a map in your research project, you should cite the map in the body of your paper and in the bibliography.

Here is a quick guide on how to cite maps in a bibliography. Map Collection staff are available to help you figure out how to identify some of these elements for your map.

SINGLE SHEET MAP

MULTI-SHEET SINGLE MAP

MAP IN A SERIES / SET

MAP FROM AN ATLAS

MAP FROM A BOOK

MANUSCRIPT MAP

FACSIMILE OR REPRODUCTION MAP

MAP FROM A WEBSITE

MAP FROM GOOGLE MAPS / GOOGLE EARTH

GIS MAP (DYNAMIC)

GIS MAP (STATIC)

ONLINE MAP GENERATOR / ONLINE GEOSPATIAL DATA VIEWER

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH ONLINE

The cartographic citation styles come from the Cartographic citations: a style guide by Christine Kollen. A copy of the style guide is available at the Map Collection service desk. Some of the definitions and explanations of map formats come from the Library of Congress's Cartographic Resources Manual .  

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If you are using information from a map, but not reproducing the map as an image or a figure, just use the advice below.

If you are reproducing the map in your work, you also need to check the information on our Images and Figures page.

• If the author not known, use the copyright owner of the map.
• If the author of the map is also the publisher, omit the publisher.
• Because dynamically created maps (e.g., Google Maps) do not have a title, describe the map in square brackets, and include a retrieval date.
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Increasing your research impact : citation map.

• Introduction
• Citation tracking

Citation map

• Citation reports
• Citation tracker/h-Graph
• Article Influence
• Eigenfactor
• Impact Factor
• Journal Analyser
• Journal Citation Reports
• Google Scholar Metrics
• Further reading

Guide index

• Citation tracker/h-graph
• Article influence
• Impact factor
• Journal analyser
• Journal citation reports
• Google Scholar metrics

What is citation mapping?

Citation mapping tracks an article’s cited and citing references through two generations, allowing researchers to visually discover an article’s wider relationships.

Citation mapping tools will let you:

go forward and backward in time to track citing and cited references.

color code, re-configure, and organise citation maps to discover trends in citation activity.

• visually engage with an interactive citation map.

Access citation maps via any Web of Science full citation record.

• Web of Science Use citation mapping in Web of Science. more... less... Includes the Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index.

Example citation map

Using ISI Web of Knowledge (Thomson Reuters), Dr. Bartlett, whose treatments have been used in Grey's Anatomy:

• Sum of the times cited: 74
• Average citations per Item: 24.67
• h-index: 2 [Bartlett has written two articles with at least two citations each.]

 Citation Map for article written by David Bartlett from Web of Science:

(access requires a subscription)

One of the First Citation Maps of Science

• Citation Map
• Visualizing Science by Citation Mapping An article about the history of citation mapping.
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• Next: Citation reports >>
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Citation Quick Guides and Style Manuals: Citing Maps

• APA Style Quick Guide (7th Edition)
• MLA Style Quick Guide (8th Edition)
• Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide (17th Edition)
• What Do You Need to Cite?
• Paraphrasing
• Other Citation Styles (By Discipline)

General Guidelines for Citing Maps

• Create an in-text citation that refers to a complete citation in an alphabetized r eference list at the end of the work.  MLA uses author/page (Jones 3) and APA uses author/date (Jones, 2009) citations.  For more examples and variations see the general citation guides .
• If the map does not have an author or corporate author, bring the title to the first position in the reference list citation and use key words from the title in the in-text citation.
• If the map has not been given a formal title, create your own logical title and place it in [brackets] to indicate such.
•   Indicate that the cited item is a map, aerial photograph, etc. with the appropriate format placed after the title.  Example:  [map]
• Document the scale if known; if unavailable use the phrase "scale not given."

Sheet Map Elements to Include Author. Title [format]. Edition. Scale. No. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

MLA Style Metsker Maps. Metsker's Map of Island County, Washington . Map. [ca. 1:70,000]. Tacoma, WA:        Metsker Maps, 1979. Print.

APA Style Metsker Maps. (1979). Metsker's map of Island county, Washington [map]. (ca. 1:70,000.) Tacoma,        WA: Metsker Maps.

Note: The abbreviation ca. stands for "approximately" and is used when a date, or in this instance a scale,   is not known exactly.

Sheet Map/Series

Elements to Include Author. Title [format]. Edition. Scale. Series, Number.  Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

MLA Style Easterbrook, Don J. Geologic Map of Western Whatcom County , Washington . Map . 1:62,500.        Miscellaneous Investigations Series, map 1-854-B. Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey, 1976.        Print. APA Style Easterbrook, D. J. (1976). Geologic map of western Whatcom County, Washington [map]. 1:62,500.        Miscellaneous investigations series, map 1-854-B. Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey.

Map from an Atlas/Book

Elements to Include Map author. Map title [format] . Scale. In: Atlas Author. Atlas Title. Edition. Place of publication:       Publisher, Date, page.

MLA Style Magocsi, Paul Robert. Population Movements, 1944-1948. Map. 1:8 890 000. In Historical Atlas of        Central Europe . Paul Robert Magocsi. Rev. & ex. ed. Seattle:  U of Washington P, 2003. 53. Print.

APA Style Magocsi, P. R. (2003). Population movements, 1944-1948 [map]. 1:8 890 000. In P. R. Magocsi,        Historical atlas of central Europe . (Rev. & ex. ed.) Seattle: University of Washington        Press. (p. 53).

Map from a Periodical

Elements to include Map Author if known. Map Title [format]. Scale if known. In: Article Author. "Article Title," Journal        Title volume (year): page.

MLA Style Clout, Hugh. "Figure 2: France: Types of Countryside." Map. Scale not given. Hugh Clout. "Rural        France in the New M illennium: Change and Challenge." Geography, 91 (2006): 207. Print.

APA Style Clout H. (2006). Figure 2: France: Types of countryside [map].Scale not given. In H. Clout. Rural         France in the new millennium: Change and challenge.   Geography, 91 , 207.

Online Maps

Single Online Map Elements to Include Author. "Map title" [format]. Scale. "Title of the complete document or site". Information date. URL, including the path and any directories necessary to access the document. (The date viewed)  

MLA U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cartographer. Cahaba River Natural Refuge . Map. 1:24,000.       2009. Web. 5 May 2010.

APA (p. 210, no. 53) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [cartographer]. (2009). Cahaba River Natural Refuge [map]. 1:24,000.        Retrieved from http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps109506/

Map in an Online Periodical Elements to Include Map author. "Map title" [format]. In: Article author. "Article title", Journal title , Volume (Date):       page. "The Distribution of Canadian Multinational Headquarters in Ontario, 1992" [map]. 3.5       cm=50km. In: Stephen P. Meyer. "Canadian Multinational Headquarters: The Importance of       Toronto's Inner City", The Great Lakes Geographer 3#1 (1996): 7.

MLA Thom, Brian. "Hul'qumi'num Traditional Territory Statement of Intent." Map. Scale not given. Brian       Thom, "The Paradox of Boundaries in Coast Salish Territories," Cultural Geographies, 16 (2009):       193 .  Web. 25 Apr. 2010.

APA (With DOI No.) Thom, B. Hul'qumi'num traditional territory statement of intent [map]. (2009). Scale not given. In        Thom, B., The paradcox of boundaries in coast Salish territories. Cultural Geographies, 16 :193.        doi: 10.1177/1474474008101516

Citing a Google Map

Elements to Include “City, State Abbreviation.” Map . Google Maps . Google, 15 May 2008. Web. 15 May 2008. 

MLA "Nooksack, WA." Map. Google Maps . Google, 22 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2010.

APA Nooksack, WA. (22 Apr. 2010). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com        /maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Nooksack,+WA&sll=37.09024,-95.712891&        sspn=51.974572,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Nooksack,+Whatcom,+Washington&        ll=48.902502,-122.279034&spn=0.020452,0.038581&z=15

Citing an Online Aerial Photograph

Elements to Include Author. Title/frame no. [format]. Scale. Line/roll number. Flight Title. Place of publication: Publisher,        Date (of image collection not of reproduction).

Online and Outreach Specialist

Useful Cartigraphical Citation Websites

• Citing Maps (Ohio Weslayan University) This style guide provides examples in the Chicago Style.
• Guide to Citing Maps and Atlases (McMaster University)
• Citing Maps (North Carolina State University, NCSU Libraries)
• Citing Maps (Boise State University, Albertsons Library Basic MLA and APA examples.
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• Next: Why Cite? >>
• Last Updated: May 21, 2024 2:05 PM
• URL: https://libguides.wwu.edu/citation_style

How do I cite a map?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Maps appear as stand-alone print works, as images in books or websites, and as functional independent websites or parts of websites. As with any work, to cite a map, follow the MLA template of core elements .

Free-Standing Print Maps

To cite a free-standing print map, provide the publication details given by the source–in the example below, the title of the map (italicized because it is a stand-alone work, like a book), its publisher, and the publication date are given:

Michigan . Rand, 2000. 

If you do not directly refer to the work as a map in your prose, you might list the medium of publication in the optional-element-slot at the end of the entry:

Michigan . Rand, 2000. Map.

Static Maps Contained in Other Works

If a map appears as a static image contained in another work, like a book or website, you can refer to it in the text and then provide an entry for the larger work in the works-cited-list entry:

As one map shows, the western boundaries of Brazil have changed over time (Fitz 43). Work Cited Fitz, Earl E. Brazilian Narrative Traditions in a Comparative Context.  Modern Language Association, 2005.

Researchers can now see where the accusers and accused lived in relation to each other in Salem Village (Kretzschmar, fig. 1).  Work Cited Kretzschmar, William A., Jr. “GIS for Language and Literature Study.” Literary Studies in the Digital Age: An Evolving Anthology , edited by Kenneth M. Price and Ray Siemens, Modern Language Association, doi:10.1632/lsda.2013.7.

In such cases, you can also treat the map as a work contained in another work and create a works-cited-list entry that gives the name of the map as the title of the source and the name of the book as the title of the container. Be sure to key your in-text reference to the entry:

The western boundaries of Brazil have changed over time (“Western Boundaries”). Work Cited “Western Boundaries of Brazil, 1600, 1780, and the Present.” Brazilian Narrative Traditions in a Comparative Context , by Earl E. Fitz, Modern Language Association, 2005, p. 43. Map.

Note that titles of maps appearing as images in other works are placed in quotation marks.

Functional Digital Maps

Digital maps are often interactive, allowing the user to display certain sections and engage special features, and sometimes they  use software applications that run on top of websites. For this reason, the page displaying the map may provide limited publication information, as in the example below: 

The Agas Map of Early Modern London . mapoflondon.uvic.ca/ agas.htm.

Additional publication information can sometimes be gleaned from the landing page for the map or from other informational pages on the website, as in the following example. Note also that the title is treated like a stand-alone work contained in another work:

Jenstad, Janelle. The Agas Map of Early Modern London . Map of Early Modern London , U of Victoria, 9 June 2016, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/ agas.htm. 

If you use a mapping tool like Google Maps to see a specific area, in the “Title of source” slot, place a description of the area displayed. The entry below, for a map of Santo Domingo, provides the title of the website in which the map is displayed as the title of the container. It then provides the copyright date from the bottom of the website and the site’s root URL (read more on truncating lengthy URLs ):

Map of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Google Maps , 2018, maps.google.com.  

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How to Cite a Map

After using a map to research, it is important to cite the information you learned from the map. Yet maps aren't as simple to cite as a book or a website, the follow resources provide different ways to cite maps and atlases.

• McMaster University Shows how to cite maps, as well as giving examples of specific cited maps.

How Use a Map

Maps produced by government agencies have different copyright policies than maps produced by private companies. The following links explain the different ways you can use government-produced maps without violating copyright laws.

United Nations Policy on map use

National Atlas Policies on map use

Sometimes the use of maps can get a bit tricky and you may need to talk to an expert about copyright issues in regards to private or government maps, please direct your questions to the Copyright Office at U of M located in room 4190 of the Shapiro Library.

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Citations & style guide.

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Citing Maps

• Media Citations
• Music Citations

Many style manuals are not clear about the specifics of citing maps. For the most comprehensive coverage, see the Chicago style resources.

APA, 7th edition

• Section 10.14: Visual Works, Example #100, Publication of the American Psychological Association: The Official Guide to APA Style (print). Examples of citations for online maps.
• Maps and Atlases: Citing Maps  (online), North Carolina State University. Formats and sample citations for print and online maps. Format is adapted from  Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide , which follows Chicago style.
• Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide   (print). Assistance in citing cartographic materials of all formats in Chicago style. The most thorough citation guide to maps printed in periodicals and books, cross sections, facsimiles, relief models, globes, and aerial photographs. Section on electronic spatial data includes entries for GIS data, real-time online maps, and interactive online maps.

MLA, 8th edition

• Citing Maps (online), Western Washington University. Examples of citations for print and online maps. Note: the APA examples on this page are not from the current edition.
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• Next: Media Citations >>
• Last Updated: Oct 11, 2022 3:00 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.unt.edu/citations-style-guides

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Adding interactive citation maps to arXiv

• Author By ame5
• Publication date June 17, 2021
• Categories: arXivLabs

We’re pleased to announce a new arXivLabs collaboration with Litmaps . The new arXivLabs feature allows arXiv users to quickly generate a citation map of the top connected articles, and then explore the citation network using the Litmaps research platform.

A citation network is a visualization of the literature cited by a research paper. The network shows how papers are related to each other in terms of concepts, subject areas, and history — and they’re valuable for analyzing the development of research areas, making decisions on research directions, and assessing the impacts of research, researchers, institutes, countries, and individual papers.

Readers can now view a Litmap citation network for a specific paper, directly from the arXiv abstract page by clicking on the “Bibliographic Tools” tab at the bottom of an abstract page and activating “Litmaps.” Using this tool, arXiv readers can now easily jump from articles they are interested in and use Litmaps’ custom visualization and automated search tools to find other critical articles they may have missed.

An arXivLabs Collaboration

“We are excited to be able to offer arXiv readers new visual ways to explore scientific literature. Litmaps will enrich the arXiv reading experience and help readers find what they need,” said Eleonora Presani, executive director of arXiv.

This tool supports arXiv’s mission to provide an open platform where researchers can share and discover new, relevant, emerging science and establish their contribution to advancing research.

“We are arXiv users ourselves at Litmaps, so it’s great to be able to collaborate and integrate with arXiv, which is a key resource for the research community,” said Axton Pitt, cofounder of Litmaps. The company aims to make the process of literature discovery easy and fun, and welcomes feedback via Twitter , or email .

A version of this blog post appears here .

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Bibliometrics and Altmetrics: Measuring the Impact of Knowledge

• Peer's Advice for APT Preparation
• Increase the Visibility of Your Research
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• Bibliometrics
• Getting Started
• Overview of Different Metrics
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DEFINITION: Citation Map

"A map of science is a spatial representation of how disciplines, fields, specialties, and individual papers or authors are related to one another as shown by their physical proximity and relative locations, analogous to the way geographic maps show the relationships of political or physical features on the Earth."

Small, H. (1999). Visualizing science by citation mapping .  Journal of the American society for Information Science ,  50 (9), 799-813.

Sample Citation Map

Create a citation map using the article by Small, H. (shown above).

If you get an error message when generating the map, follow the steps:

• Go to the Java Control Panel (On Windows click Start and then Configure Java )
• Under the Security Tab there is a feature called the Edit Site list .
• Click on Edit Site list then add the URL http://cm.webofknowledge.com
• Make sure you clear the cache and cookies of your browser.

More information on this problem can be found at the Java web site: Why are Java applications blocked by your security settings with the latest Java?

Create a Citation Map

Do you want to create a graphical representation that shows the citation relationships (cited references and citing articles) between your paper and other papers? Using Web of Knowledge  database citation mapping tool , you can analyze which researchers are citing your papers. You can also choose to organize and color code the results by author, year, journal title, subject category, and more.

Getting started:

• Go to Web of Science  from Database Finder  (If you are off-campus , login using your directory ID and password).
• Type in the article title for which you want to create a citation map.
• Click on the article title link to open the full record.
• Click on View Citation Map link on the right menu.

Fo r more detailed instructions on how to use this tool, go to Web of Knowledge Tutorial . 

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• Next: Citation Report >>
• Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024 12:07 PM
• URL: https://lib.guides.umd.edu/bibliometrics

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How to Create Citations for Google Maps: MLA, APA, & Chicago

Last Updated: December 13, 2023

This article was reviewed by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 119,399 times.

If you're writing a research paper or report, you might want to cite Google Maps to discuss a particular location or configure a route between two places. Most common methods of citation don't address specifically how to cite Google Maps. Instead, you have to cobble together a format using the requirements for online maps generally. While you're typically going to include the same basic information in your citation, the formats for Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Chicago style are slightly different.

Things You Should Know

• If you need to cite Google Maps, make sure to truncate lengthy URLs.
• For MLA format, include a shortened title or description in-text.
• For APA format, use Google as the author.

Sample Citations

• Location example: Map of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
• Route example: Directions for Driving from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

• Example: Directions for Driving from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Google Maps , 2018,

• Example: Directions for Driving from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Google Maps , 23 August 2018,

• Example: Directions for Driving from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Google Maps , 2018, maps.google.com.

• Example: ("Directions for Driving")

• Example: Google.

• Example: Google (n.d.).

• Example: Google (n.d.). [Google Maps directions for driving from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL].

• Example: Google (n.d.). [Google Maps directions for driving from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL]. Retrieved August 23, 2018, from shorturl.at/esuD5
• Note that you will typically end up with a long URL. Talk to your instructor or supervisor about this, and get their recommendations for shortening or truncating the URL.

• Example: [Google Maps directions for driving from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL]. (23 August 2018). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved from shorturl.at/esuD5
• Author example: "Google Maps shows that it would take between 7 and 8 hours to drive from Nashville, TN to Santa Rosa Beach, FL (Google)."
• Description example: "The beaches on the Gulf Coast are the closest for the landlocked residents of Tennessee ("Google Maps driving directions").

• Example: Google Maps.

• Example: Google Maps. "Directions for Driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida."

• Example: Google Maps. "Directions for Driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida." Accessed August 23, 2018.

• Example: Google Maps. "Directions for Driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida." Accessed August 23, 2018. shorturl.at/esuD5.

• Example: "Directions for Driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida," Google Maps, accessed August 23, 2018, shorturl.at/esuD5.

Expert Q&A

• In some disciplines, additional information may be required to cite Google Maps appropriately. For example, for a geography class you may be expected to include information about the scale of the map. Talk to your instructor or supervisor to find out what information is necessary. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://style.mla.org/citing-a-map/
• ↑ https://libguides.williams.edu/citing/mla#s-lg-box-11358746
• ↑ https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2015/08/how-to-cite-online-maps.html

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9 Innovative Literature Mapping Tools Every Researcher Needs to Know

Staying up to date with the latest literature mapping tools for academic research is a major part of any researcher’s workflow from any domain.

Here, I present a compilation of nine cutting-edge literature mapping tools that should be on every researcher’s radar.

Literature Mapping is nothing but a plan of action when finding literature for your academic research.

During the literature review , we often switch to various methods of searching and browsing. It is a tedious job.

Academic Researchers have to face many challenges during this phase to get the relevant papers.

In general, we find some relevant academic papers from various sources through keyword searching.

After receiving articles, we look at the references or citation s of those articles.

This process guides researchers to identify interesting authors and their scholarly publications.

To alleviate the aforesaid issues and hassle-free literature maps, these citation -based literature mapping services play a pivotal role.

After taking one or more relevant seed papers and using various techniques, they recommend new ones that are similar to be integrated.

Various types of free science mapping software can automatically generate relevant related papers based on relevant seed papers .

Using the literature review mapping tools you can visualize them in a map or graph.

I n this blog post, I have compiled a list of  9 powerful and innovative literature mapping tools for academic researchers.

You can use these smart software tools to increase the scale and scope of the literature for your projects.

Below is the list of 9 most useful tools for mapping research literature:

• Citation Gecko
• OpenKnowledge Map
• Connected papers
• Local citation Network
• ResearchRabbit

List of 9 Innovative Literature Mapping Tools

No. #1  citation gecko.

It is a free open-source robust literature discovery and reviews mapping web application.

This literature discovery tool helps you identify the relevant research papers.

The web app was developed by Barney Walker, Imperial College London in 2018 to assist relevant literature discovery to academic researchers.

It has been released as open-source on Github . 

The handy research mapping digital tool allows you to build upon each other’s scholarly works. 

It uses open citation data to recommend relevant scholarly articles based on seed papers.

This literature mapping software takes some seed papers of your study of the field and identifies the relevant articles. 

Besides, it also visualizes the citation network along with its size. You can also discover literature that you may have missed.

No technical knowledge is required to construct and visualize your relevant research articles.

You can do it just by entering some seed papers in the Citation Gecko.

The following sources are used to collect the data:

Open Citation corpus and open citation index of Crossref open DOI-to-DOI Citation s.

In my previous post on how to identify relevant academic papers using the literature discovery tool , I elaborately discussed and demonstrated how to do literature mapping using the Citation Gecko.

No. #2  Inciteful

The literature mapping tool was launched in beta version on 19th December 2020. 

It is a free discovery tool that allows researchers to discover relevant academic research papers in a short time frame.

The Incitefull lets you identify the scholarly material related to the particular topics you have. 

To explore and categorize the literature the online tool uses citation s.

After taking the paper of your interest, the mapping tool surfaces the most relevant papers based on open metadata and citation s.

Academic researchers can import the BibTex file into the web app and export the BibTex file from this web app.

 This facility makes the review of the literature easy.

In my earlier post on how to find relevant Research papers to speed up your literature review , I did a deep dive.

No. #3 OpenKnowledge – A Visual Interface to the World’s Scientific Knowledge

Open Knowledge Maps (OKMaps) is a free and easy-to-understand robust web application.

 The literature mapping tool was developed as open-source and released under an MIT license.

Open Knowledge Maps is a charitable non-profit organization that was founded by Peter Kraker.

The digital tool lets you find the most relevant and credible research papers through a user-friendly graphical user interface.

Open Knowledge Maps allows you to search for the most relevant papers through Pubmed , BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search) , and OpenAIRE .

The OKMaps is one of the world’s largest visual search engines for scientific knowledge. 

The web app provides a visual web interface to the world’s scientific knowledge using knowledge maps.

You do not need to install any software for searching the most relevant scholarly publications. 

In my blog post on how to find the most relevant research papers using a visual interface , I discussed and demonstrated the literature mapping tool.

No. #4 Connectedpapers

After a long beta version, the founders have released the Connected Papers software to the public.

 The Connected Papers tool is a free and easy-to-understand smart software tool. This citation s mapping tool lets you search the relevant and credible resources.

The innovative literature mapping tool has a user-friendly graphical user interface. You do not need to install any software.

You can use it through your desktop web browser. But,  mobile browsers are not supported yet.

The working procedure of this tool is straightforward and easy to understand.

First, you just put a paper of your domain then it generates a graph that displays that part of paper space and their interconnectivity.

The graph is generated using a similarity metric based on the concepts of co citation s and bibliographic coupling.

Beyond that, it also provides additional functions to get the knowledge of “Prior works” and “Derivative works” .

In my article, I demonstrated how to make a literature map using the Connected papers.

No. #5 Litmaps (Discover Science Faster)

Litmaps is a handy interactive visualization tool for discovering scientific literature.

The project is designed and developed by the Litmaps team .

In order to visualize and explore the academic literature, the Litmaps tool is very useful for researchers.

The literature review mapping tool lets you build the interactive academic literature map of keywords, authors, or bibliographies.

Beyond that, this citation mapping tool also permits you to navigate the papers with interactive visualizations of citation graphs.

I have already blogged on how to discover scientific literature with an interactive visualization tool ( Litmaps ).

No. #6 Local Citation Network

Local Citation Network is an online free, open-source, and easy-to-use citation network graph visualizer and is available on Github . 

The research mapping tool helps you with literature review mapping.

This literature review mapping tool was developed by Tim Wölfle , physician-scientist, Imperial College London.

The citation mapping tool allows you to identify the seminal paper s by building and visualizing citation networks.

 Using citation network analysis, this tool does this work.

A Citation network is nothing but a visual network graph that lets you find and explore the influential papers using the number of citation s.

In a blog post on free visualization tools to support the literature survey , I elaborately discussed and demonstrated the Local Citation Network.

No. #7 CoCites

CoCites finds articles that are frequently cited together with an article of interest.

CoCites is developed by Dr. A. Cecile J.W. Janssens, a research professor at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, USA.

It is one of the best co- citation -based tools for searching scientific articles. If the input paper has few or even no citation s then it will not act properly.

After finding articles, it gives out a ranking of the most frequently Co-cited articles.

The data source of this software is the NIH Open Citation Collection (NIH-OCC), public access, broad coverage resources .

In the full version of CoCites, you will be able to:

• Perform a co- citation search using multiple query articles
• Find recently published articles through a citation search
• Filter search results using a similarity score
• Save your search queries for re-use and search updates

No. #8  VOSviewer – Visualizing Scientific Landscapes

VOSviewer is a software tool for constructing and visualizing bibliometric networks. 

These networks may for instance include journals, researchers, or individual publications, and they can be constructed based on citation , bibliographic coupling, co- citation , or co- authorship relations.

VOSviewer Online is a web-based version of VOSviewer. It runs in a web browser and can be used to share interactive visualizations and embed these visualizations in online platforms.

No. #9  ResearchRabbit

ResearchRabbit is a free new literature mapping web app. It is free forever for academic researchers.

This discovery app unlocks a completely novel way to search for academic papers and authors.

Besides, the online tool monitors new scholarly literature, visualizes research landscapes.  

The citation -based literature mapping application lets you keep up with the latest research papers related to your collections!

Now, ResearchRabbit is out of beta version. You can use the tool to discover and visualize academic literature and its authors in new ways.

In general, the discovery tool takes one or more relevant seed papers.

 After using various methods, the ResearchRabbit recommends new ones that are similar to be added.

One of the most important features of this discovery tool is that it provides co- authorship graphs providing another dimension for the researcher to explore the literature forest and add publications by authors.

You can integrate Zotero now, Zotero extension can be used as an extension.

You can bi-directionally link your Zotero folder with ResearchRabbit collections!

Like most other above-mentioned discovery apps, you can add specific articles using DOIs/PMIDs, title search, or by importing research papers through BibTeX or RIS.

In this post, I discussed the 9 best innovative literature mapping tools for academic research you need to know when starting your literature review .

Hopefully, this blog post was useful to you! What othe r discovery and science mapping tools have you used for academic research?

I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment below.

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Research Impact and Citation Analysis

• Compile Departmental Publications
• Curate Researcher Publications
• Discover Potential Collaborators
• Compare Journals
• Explore a Document's Impact
• Calculate H-Index
• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2023 3:44 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.upenn.edu/bibliometrics

Paperscape is an interactive map that visualises the arXiv , an open, online repository for scientific research papers.

Each paper is represented by a circle, with the size of a circle related to how often that paper has been cited (referred to) - a measure of its impact.

The papers are clustered together according to how they reference each other i.e. share information. This is done by modeling the papers as particles in a physical system, with references acting as attractive forces between papers - read more .

Created by Damien George and Rob Knegjens .

Please report any bugs or feature requests to Github . We can also be contacted on our development blog or Facebook page .

• Harvard Library
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Measuring Your Scholarly Impact

Visualization software, author & article impact, journal rankings & evaluation, statements on responsible research metrics, article & author impact.

• Web of Science (Harvard Login) A multidisciplinary database, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the sciences, social sciences and arts. Create personal account to generate citation reports by author and create citation maps for articles.
• Google Scholar Citations Track citations to your publications. Determine which authors are citing to your publications. Graph your citations over time. Note: You must register for a Google account using an academic email account. Authors of scholarly articles should claim their Google Scholar page to verify that your publications listings are accurate and complete. You can also create an author profile by following the instructions on the Google Scholar Citation page
• Publish or Perish A free author and journal impact metrics software program developed by Anne Wil Harzing that retrieves and analyzes citations to articles and books. The software uses Google Scholar to obtain the raw citations. The tool can be used to locate most cited articles and books by searching in general citations field.
• ORCID Register for an ORCID number. An ORCID is a unique id number that distinguishes you from every other researcher. This id is essential if you have a common last and first name as it distinguishes you from other scholars. Read more about ORCID at the Library's ORCID page. You can also use Harvard ORCID Connect to allow Harvard to access your ORCID more easily. This means internal scholarly and administrative systems can pull in your public ORCID data, saving you time, maintaining the accuracy and consistency of your data, and creating meaningful connections between systems. The id can be integrated into the research workflow such as manuscript and grant submissions and it supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities.

Journal Metrics

Journal metrics are used to identify key journals in a research field.  This identification may be most useful to authors who are considering which journals to submit manuscripts to for future publication.

The Impact Factor may be the most familiar metric in academics. Eugene Garfield of Thomson Scientific first introduced this idea in the 1950s. Impact Factor calculations are now available through Thomson’s Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and the Elsevier product, Scopus.

Despite their merits, journal metrics can be misused for evaluating individual authors. Altmetrics is an alternative for measuring scholarly impact. Altmetrics measures the use of social media tools such as bookmarks, links, blog postings, and tweets to gauge the importance of scholarly output by authors.  Using altmetrics as a measure of scholarly impact is controversial as social media tweets and mentions can be gamed by authors.

Journal Evaluation Resources

• Journal Citation Reports (Harvard Login) Database for journal evaluation, using citation data drawn from over 8,400 scholarly and technical journals worldwide in the sciences and social sciences. Coverage is both multidisciplinary and international, and incorporates journals from over 3,000 publishers in 60 nations.
• Google Scholar Metrics Defaults to top 100 publications in English, ordered by their five-year h-index and h-median metrics. Use the search box to search for individual journal titles. Compare the publications that are of interest to you. Explore publications by subject area by going to the left column, selecting your language, and picking a general search category. You can refine your results further by clicking on the subcategory link under each general subject category. more... less... For additional information about google inclusion and exclusion policies for metrics, go to https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/metrics.html#overview
• SJR (Scimago Journal & Country Rank) A free ranking tool for journals. Data from Elsevier product, Scopus. You can limit results by country and geographic region.
• SciRev Provides information on journal response times and review duration based on feedback from individuals. Heavy focus on science journals but includes some social science and business/economics journals.

Conducting Literature Reviews

Scholars will often publish journal articles that evaluate the top ranked journals in their discipline. Conduct a search in a large interdisciplinary database such as Proquest Social Sciences Premium Collection or Ebsco's Academic Search Premier using keywords such as "top journals" or "highly ranked journals" and the field. For example, you could search in Academic Search Premier using the terms "top ranked journals" and "economics". You can also select a narrower subject specific database such as EconLit .  Alternatively search across a number of different databases for full-text articles using the Google Scholar search option.

Defining Altmetrics

The term "altmetrics" (alternative metrics) is used to describe approaches to measure the impact of scholarship by using new social media tools such as bookmarks, links, blog postings, inclusion in citation management tools, mentions and tweets to measure the importance of scholarly output.

Proponents of altmetrics believe that using altmetrics will help measure the impact of an article in a more comperhensive and objective way than was done with more traditional scholarly impact measures such as journal impact factor.  However, there are limits to this approach and caution should be used to not rely on any one particular measure in evaluting the importance of scholarship.

• Altmetrics, A Manifesto Web site devoted to altmetrics. Started by group of librarians and researchers who are active in promoting altmetrics as an alternative to more traditional forms of tracking article impact.
• Impact Story ImpactStory aggregates altmetrics measures from articles, datasets, blog posts, and more.
• Altmetric (Free Tools) Private company that sells access to altmetrics products. Individual researchers can download a free bookmarklet to check altmetrics on individual articles.
• Open Syllabus Project Creators of site scraped college Web sites and have put together the metadata for over 1 million syllabi. New metric based on this project, the "Teaching Score" (TS), is a numerical indicator of the frequency with which a particular work is taught.
• Leiden Madtrics Leiden Madtrics is the official blog of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. The blog looks specifically at the processes of evaluating research, developing research policy, and the myriad ways academic research makes an impact in society

Free Software for Visualizing Citations

• CitNetExplorer A product of CWTS of Leiden University, this tool allows citation networks to be imported directly from the Web of Science database and used to visualize and analyze citation networks of scientific publications.
• Gephi An open-source software for visualizing and analysing large networks graphs. Gephi uses a 3D render engine to display graphs in real-time and speed up the exploration. You can use it to explore, analyse, spatialise, filter, cluterize, manipulate and export all types of graphs.
• Sci2 Network visualization tool that allows for easy data import from standard comma-separated lists and generates network analytics as well as visualizations.
• VOSviewer Created by Leiden University's CWTS, a software tool for constructing and visualizing bibliometric networks. Offers text mining functionality that can be used to construct and visualize networks of important terms extracted from a body of scientific literature.
• Local Citation Network Construct and visualizes citation networks to identify the most influential papers in a given topic or field.
• Citation Gecko Start from a small set of 'seed papers' that define an area you are interested. Gecko will search the citation network for connected papers allowing you to quickly identify important papers that you may have missed.You can connect to your Zotero libraries.
• Leiden Manifesto for Research Metrics
• San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment
• Last Updated: Aug 1, 2023 2:18 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/hks/scholarlyimpact

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Powerful Tools for Mapping a Research Literature

Professor Courtney Page Tan , Assistant Professor of Human Resilience in the Department of Security and Emergency Services at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has compiled a list of powerful literature mapping tools. You can use these tools to increase the scale and scope of the literature for your projects. Many provide stunning graphical displays of search results (Edward Tufte would approve).

Connected Papers lets you explore connected papers in a visual graph, beginning with a starter paper you select. You can start with a DOI, URL, or paper title. Purposes: (1) Get a visual overview of a new academic field; (2) Make sure you haven’t missed an important paper; (3) Create the bibliography to your thesis; and (4) Discover the most relevant prior and derivative works.

scite_ Smart Citations for Intelligent Research . Smart Citations allow users to see how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation and a classification describing whether it provides supporting or disputing evidence for the cited claim. They claim a database of over 23 million full-text articles.

Open Knowledge Maps . Calling themselves a “visual interface to the world’s scientific community,” their tool allows you to start with a few keywords to search for literature on a topic. Results display the main areas at a glance, and papers related to each area. In addition to giving you an overview of the area, it helps you identify important concepts. They highlight open access papers in their search results.

Local Citation Network . You input an article using its DOI or a scanned copy containing DOIs and the program shows you suggested articles for you to follow up.

They explain that “This web app aims to help scientists with their literature review using metadata from Microsoft Academic and Crossref . Academic papers cite one another, thus creating a citation network (= graph) . Each node (= vertex) represents an article and each edge (= link / arrow) represents a reference / citation. Citation graphs are a topic of bibliometrics, for which other great software exists as well .

This web app visualizes subsets of the global citation network that I call “local citation networks,” defined by the references of a given set of input articles. In addition, the most cited references missing in the set of input articles are suggested for further review.”

Citation Gecko Gecko is designed to help you find the most relevant papers to your research and give you a more complete sense of the research landscape. Users start from a small set of ‘seed papers’ that define an area you are interested. Gecko will search the citation network for connected papers allowing you to quickly identify important papers you may have missed.

PRISMA Flow Diagram Generator . This is the most complex of the tools. It generates a graphical representation of the flow of citations reviewed in the course of a Systematic Review. Click here for an example.

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Startup Stack

by Scalarly

Litmaps: Search Scientific Literature With Interactive Citation Maps

⚖️ Our Verdict

Litmaps is an app highly recommended for researchers who want to visualize research articles by mapping them out. This time-based citation network involves helpful research tools and project state for you to organize your literature review.

The program also allows a network search that offers highly connected articles. It’s going to make your BSc and PhD projects much easier because you can build up key articles through targeted search results. You’ll also get updated every time a new article connected to your study is published!

It’s a free, interactive app that requires no sign-up, making it better than other productivity apps for academics. However, a collaboration feature would be great for Litmaps!  

🌟 About Litmaps

Advancing BSc and PhD research projects entails navigating the appropriate scientific literature in a sea of resources.  Academic search engines and reference manages are usually utilized for find articles for literature reviews. However, the results shown on these tools don’t offer a clear context of results.

Litmaps was built to solve this problem by building a Literature Map for your project. Through this “litmap”, you can visually see connections between papers. 

Links to your map are shown on your future keyword search and they are ranked based on these connections for you to target your research topic and understand why this paper is important.

Litmaps is really useful when navigating the citation network. You can find papers through looking at a research papers citations and references https://t.co/uTwd9yHUjW #litmaps #literaturemapping #sciencevisualization #dataviz #visualization #research #datascience #accidentalArt pic.twitter.com/YOHediReya — Litmaps (@LitmapsApp) February 17, 2021

🎁 What’s In It For You?

You already know that Litmaps lets you create literature maps or “litmaps” of available scientific literature for your research topic. This productivity tool lets you import data from BibTeX, ORCID, Zotero, Endnote, and Mendeley to create interactive visualizations of authors, keywords, and bibliographies. You also get updates when papers related to your project are published!

What’s more, Litmaps features suggestions radar that recommends papers that share citations with your project . Simply make a keyword search and enjoy the endless possibilities of discovering academic articles for your review of related literature!

Do all of these for free because it’s currently in early access. You don’t need to create an account to get started too! 

🖥️ How Does It Work?

• Search a topic on Litmaps.

• See article results on the left and citation mapping on the right. 

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• Published: 16 May 2024

The Egyptian pyramid chain was built along the now abandoned Ahramat Nile Branch

• Eman Ghoneim   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3988-0335 1 ,
• Timothy J. Ralph   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4956-606X 2 ,
• Suzanne Onstine 3 ,
• Raghda El-Behaedi 4 ,
• Gad El-Qady 5 ,
• Amr S. Fahil 6 ,
• Mahfooz Hafez 5 ,
• Magdy Atya 5 ,
• Mohamed Ebrahim   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4068-5628 5 ,
• Ashraf Khozym 5 &
• Mohamed S. Fathy 6  

Communications Earth & Environment volume  5 , Article number:  233 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Archaeology
• Geomorphology
• Hydrogeology
• Sedimentology

The largest pyramid field in Egypt is clustered along a narrow desert strip, yet no convincing explanation as to why these pyramids are concentrated in this specific locality has been given so far. Here we use radar satellite imagery, in conjunction with geophysical data and deep soil coring, to investigate the subsurface structure and sedimentology in the Nile Valley next to these pyramids. We identify segments of a major extinct Nile branch, which we name The Ahramat Branch, running at the foothills of the Western Desert Plateau, where the majority of the pyramids lie. Many of the pyramids, dating to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, have causeways that lead to the branch and terminate with Valley Temples which may have acted as river harbors along it in the past. We suggest that The Ahramat Branch played a role in the monuments’ construction and that it was simultaneously active and used as a transportation waterway for workmen and building materials to the pyramids’ sites.

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Introduction.

The landscape of the northern Nile Valley in Egypt, between Lisht in the south and the Giza Plateau in the north, was subject to a number of environmental and hydrological changes during the past few millennia 1 , 2 . In the Early Holocene (~12,000 years before present), the Sahara of North Africa transformed from a hyper-arid desert to a savannah-like environment, with large river systems and lake basins 3 , 4 due to an increase in global sea level at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The wet conditions of the Sahara provided a suitable habitat for people and wildlife, unlike in the Nile Valley, which was virtually inhospitable to humans because of the constantly higher river levels and swampy environment 5 . At this time, Nile River discharge was high, which is evident from the extensive deposition of organic-rich fluvial sediment in the Eastern Mediterranean basin 6 . Based on the interpretation of archeological material and pollen records, this period, known as the African Humid Period (AHP) (ca. 14,500–5000 years ago), was the most significant and persistent wet period from the early to mid-Holocene in the eastern Sahara region 7 , with an annual rainfall rate of 300–920 mm yr −1   8 . During this time the Nile would have had several secondary channels branching across the floodplain, similar to those described by early historians (e.g., Herodotus).

During the mid-Holocene (~10,000–6000 years ago), freshwater marshes were common within the Nile floodplain causing habitation to be more nucleated along the desert margins of the Nile Valley 9 . The desert margins provided a haven from the high Nile water. With the ending of the AHP and the beginning of the Late Holocene (~5500 years ago to present), rainfall greatly declined, and the region’s humid phase gradually came to an end with punctuated short wet episodes 10 . Due to increased aridity in the Sahara, more people moved out of the desert towards the Nile Valley and settled along the edge of the Nile floodplain. With the reduced precipitation, sedimentation increased in and around the Nile River channels causing the proximal floodplain to rise in height and adjacent marshland to decrease in the area 11 , 12 estimated the Nile flood levels to have ranged from 1 to 4 m above the baseline (~5000 BP). Inhabitants moved downhill to the Nile Valley and settled in the elevated areas on the floodplain, including the raised natural levees of the river and jeziras (islands). This was the beginning of the Old Kingdom Period (ca. 2686 BCE) and the time when early pyramid complexes, including the Step Pyramid of Djoser, were constructed at the margins of the floodplain. During this time the Nile discharge was still considerably higher than its present level. The high flow of the river, particularly during the short-wet intervals, enabled the Nile to maintain multiple branches, which meandered through its floodplain. Although the landscape of the Nile floodplain has greatly transformed due to river regulation associated with the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s, this region still retains some clear hydro-geomorphological traces of the abandoned river channels.

Since the beginning of the Pharaonic era, the Nile River has played a fundamental role in the rapid growth and expansion of the Egyptian civilization. Serving as their lifeline in a largely arid landscape, the Nile provided sustenance and functioned as the main water corridor that allowed for the transportation of goods and building materials. For this reason, most of the key cities and monuments were in close proximity to the banks of the Nile and its peripheral branches. Over time, however, the main course of the Nile River laterally migrated, and its peripheral branches silted up, leaving behind many ancient Egyptian sites distant from the present-day river course 9 , 13 , 14 , 15 . Yet, it is still unclear as to where exactly the ancient Nile courses were situated 16 , and whether different reaches of the Nile had single or multiple branches that were simultaneously active in the past. Given the lack of consensus amongst scholars regarding this subject, it is imperative to develop a comprehensive understanding of the Nile during the time of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Such a poor understanding of Nile River morphodynamics, particularly in the region that hosts the largest pyramid fields of Egypt, from Lisht to Giza, limits our understanding of how changes in the landscape influenced human activities and settlement patterns in this region, and significantly restricts our ability to understand the daily lives and stories of the ancient Egyptians.

Currently, much of the original surface of the ancient Nile floodplain is masked by either anthropogenic activity or broad silt and sand sheets. For this reason, singular approaches such as on-ground searches for the remains of hidden former Nile branches are both increasingly difficult and inauspicious. A number of studies have already been carried out in Egypt to locate segments of the ancient Nile course. For instance 9 , proposed that the axis of the Nile River ran far west of its modern course past ancient cities such as el-Ashmunein (Hermopolis) 13 . mapped the ancient hydrological landscape in the Luxor area and estimated both an eastward and westward Nile migration rate of 2–3 km per 1000 years. In the Nile Delta region 17 , detected several segments of buried Nile distributaries and elevated mounds using geoelectrical resistivity surveys. Similarly, a study by Bunbury and Lutley 14 identified a segment of an ancient Nile channel, about 5000 years old, near the ancient town of Memphis ( men-nefer ). More recently 15 , used cores taken around Memphis to reveal a section of a lateral ancient Nile branch that was dated to the Neolithic and Predynastic times (ca. 7000–5000 BCE). On the bank of this branch, Memphis, the first capital of unified Egypt, was founded in early Pharaonic times. Over the Dynastic period, this lateral branch then significantly migrated eastwards 15 . A study by Toonen et al. 18 , using borehole data and electrical resistivity tomography, further revealed a segment of an ancient Nile branch, dating to the New Kingdom Period, situated near the desert edge west of Luxor. This river branch would have connected important localities and thus played a significant role in the cultural landscape of this area. More recent research conducted further north by Sheisha et al. 2 , near the Giza Plateau, indicated the presence of a former river and marsh-like environment in the floodplain east of the three great Pyramids of Giza.

Even though the largest concentration of pyramids in Egypt are located along a narrow desert strip from south Lisht to Giza, no explanation has been offered as to why these pyramid fields were condensed in this particular area. Monumental structures, such as pyramids and temples, would logically be built near major waterways to facilitate the transportation of their construction materials and workers. Yet, no waterway has been found near the largest pyramid field in Egypt, with the Nile River lying several kilometers away. Even though many efforts to reconstruct the ancient Nile waterways have been conducted, they have largely been confined to small sites, which has led to the mapping of only fragmented sections of the ancient Nile channel systems.

In this work, we present remote sensing, geomorphological, soil coring and geophysical evidence to support the existence of a long-lost ancient river branch, the Ahramat Branch, and provide the first map of the paleohydrological setting in the Lisht-Giza area. The finding of the Ahramat Branch is not only crucial to our understanding of why the pyramids were built in these specific geographical areas, but also for understanding how the pyramids were accessed and constructed by the ancient population. It has been speculated by many scholars that the ancient Egyptians used the Nile River for help transporting construction materials to pyramid building sites, but until now, this ancient Nile branch was not fully uncovered or mapped. This work can help us better understand the former hydrological setting of this region, which would in turn help us learn more about the environmental parameters that may have influenced the decision to build these pyramids in their current locations during the time of Pharaonic Egypt.

Position and morphology of the Ahramat Branch

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and radar high-resolution elevation data for the Nile floodplain and its desert margins, between south Lisht and the Giza Plateau area, provide evidence for the existence of segments of a major ancient river branch bordering 31 pyramids dating from the Old Kingdom to Second Intermediate Period (2686−1649 BCE) and spanning between Dynasties 3–13 (Fig.  1a ). This extinct branch is referred to hereafter as the Ahramat Branch, meaning the “Pyramids Branch” in Arabic. Although masked by the cultivated fields of the Nile floodplain, subtle topographic expressions of this former branch, now invisible in optical satellite data, can be traced on the ground surface by TanDEM-X (TDX) radar data and the Topographic Position Index (TPI). Data analysis indicates that this lateral distributary channel lies between 2.5 and 10.25 km west from the modern Nile River. The branch appears to have a surface channel depth between 2 and 8 m, a channel length of about 64 km and a channel width of 200–700 m, which is similar to the width of the contemporary neighboring Nile course. The size and longitudinal continuity of the Ahramat Branch and its proximity to all the pyramids in the study area implies a functional waterway of great significance.

a Shows the Ahramat Branch borders a large number of pyramids dating from the Old Kingdom to the 2 nd Intermediate Period and spanning between Dynasties 3 and 13. b Shows Bahr el-Libeini canal and remnant of abandoned channel visible in the 1911 historical map (Egyptian Survey Department scale 1:50,000). c Bahr el-Libeini canal and the abandoned channel are overlain on satellite basemap. Bahr el-Libeini is possibly the last remnant of the Ahramat Branch before it migrated eastward. d A visible segment of the Ahramat Branch in TDX is now partially occupied by the modern Bahr el-Libeini canal. e A major segment of the Ahramat Branch, approximately 20 km long and 0.5 km wide, can be traced in the floodplain along the Western Desert Plateau south of the town of Jirza. Location of e is marked in white a box in a . (ESRI World Image Basemap, source: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics).

A trace of a 3 km river segment of the Ahramat Branch, with a width of about 260 m, is observable in the floodplain west of the Abu Sir pyramids field (Fig.  1b–d ). Another major segment of the Ahramat Branch, approximately 20 km long and 0.5 km wide can be traced in the floodplain along the Western Desert Plateau south of the town of Jirza (Fig.  1e ). The visible segments of the Ahramat Branch in TDX are now partially occupied by the modern Bahr el-Libeini canal. Such partial overlap between the courses of this canal, traced in the1911 historical maps (Egyptian Survey Department scale 1:50,000), and the Ahramat Branch is clear in areas where the Nile floodplain is narrower (Fig.  1b–d ), while in areas where the floodplain gets wider, the two water courses are about 2 km apart. In light of that, Bahr el-Libeini canal is possibly the last remnant of the Ahramat Branch before it migrated eastward, silted up, and vanished. In the course of the eastward migration over the Nile floodplain, the meandering Ahramat Branch would have left behind traces of abandoned channels (narrow oxbow lakes) which formed as a result of the river erosion through the neck of its meanders. A number of these abandoned channels can be traced in the 1911 historical maps near the foothill of the Western Desert plateau proving the eastward shifting of the branch at this locality (Fig.  1b–d ). The Dahshur Lake, southwest of the city of Dahshur, is most likely the last existing trace of the course of the Ahramat Branch.

Subsurface structure and sedimentology of the Ahramat Branch

Geophysical surveys using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electromagnetic Tomography (EMT) along a 1.2 km long profile revealed a hidden river channel lying 1–1.5 m below the cultivated Nile floodplain (Fig.  2 ). The position and shape of this river channel is in an excellent match with those derived from radar satellite imagery for the Ahramat Branch. The EMT profile shows a distinct unconformity in the middle, which in this case indicates sediments that have a different texture than the overlying recent floodplain silt deposits and the sandy sediments that are adjacent to this former branch (Fig.  2 ). GPR overlapping the EMT profile from 600–1100 m on the transect confirms this. Here, we see evidence of an abandoned riverbed approximately 400 m wide and at least 25 m deep (width:depth ratio ~16) at this location. This branch has a symmetrical channel shape and has been infilled with sandy Neonile sediment different to other surrounding Neonile deposits and the underlying Eocene bedrock. The geophysical profile interpretation for the Ahramat Branch at this locality was validated using two sediment cores of depths 20 m (Core A) and 13 m (Core B) (Fig.  3 ). In Core A between the center and left bank of the former branch we found brown sandy mud at the floodplain surface and down to ~2.7 m with some limestone and chert fragments, a reddish sandy mud layer with gravel and handmade material inclusions at ~2.8 m, a gray sandy mud layer from ~3–5.8 m, another reddish sandy mud layer with gravel and freshwater mussel shells at ~6 m, black sandy mud from ~6–8 m, and sandy silt grading into clean, well-sorted medium sand dominated the profile from ~8 to >13 m. In Core B on the right bank of the former branch we found recently deposited brown sandy mud at the floodplain surface and down to ~1.5 m, alternating brown and gray layers of silty and sandy mud down to ~4 m (some reddish layers with gravel and handmade material inclusions), a black sandy mud layer from ~4–4.9 m, and another reddish sandy mud layer with gravel and freshwater mussel shells at ~5 m, before clean, well-sorted medium sand dominated the profile from 5 to >20 m. Shallow groundwater was encountered in both cores concurrently with the sand layers, indicating that the buried sedimentary structure of the abandoned Ahramat Branch acts as a conduit for subsurface water flow beneath the distal floodplain of the modern Nile River.

a Locations of geophysical profile and soil drilling (ESRI World Image Basemap, source: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics). Photos taken from the field while using the b Electromagnetic Tomography (EMT) and c Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). d Showing the apparent conductivity profile, e showing EMT profile, and f showing GPR profiles with overlain sketch of the channel boundary on the GPR graph. g Simplified interpretation of the buried channel with the location of the two-soil coring of A and B.

It shows two-soil cores, A and core B, with soil profile descriptions, graphic core logs, sediment grain size charts, and example photographs.

Alignment of old and middle kingdom pyramids to the Ahramat Branch

The royal pyramids in ancient Egypt are not isolated monuments, but rather joined with several other structures to form complexes. Besides the pyramid itself, the pyramid complex includes the mortuary temple next to the pyramid, a valley temple farther away from the pyramid on the edge of a waterbody, and a long sloping causeway that connects the two temples. A causeway is a ceremonial raised walkway, which provides access to the pyramid site and was part of the religious aspects of the pyramid itself 19 . In the study area, it was found that many of the causeways of the pyramids run perpendicular to the course of the Ahramat Branch and terminate directly on its riverbank.

In Egyptian pyramid complexes, the valley temples at the end of causeways acted as river harbors. These harbors served as an entry point for the river borne visitors and ceremonial roads to the pyramid. Countless valley temples in Egypt have not yet been found and, therefore, might still be buried beneath the agricultural fields and desert sands along the riverbank of the Ahramat Branch. Five of these valley temples, however, partially survived and still exist in the study area. These temples include the valley temples of the Bent Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure from Dynasty 4; the valley temple of the Pyramid of Sahure from Dynasty 5, and the valley temple of the Pyramid of Pepi II from Dynasty 6. All the aforementioned temples are dated to the Old Kingdom. These five surviving temples were found to be positioned adjacent to the riverbank of the Ahramat Branch, which strongly implies that this river branch was contemporaneously functioning during the Old Kingdom, at the time of pyramid construction.

Analysis of the ground elevation of the 31 pyramids and their proximity to the floodplain, within the study area, helped explain the position and relative water level of the Ahramat Branch during the time between the Old Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period (ca. 2649–1540 BCE). Based on Fig. ( 4) , the Ahramat Branch had a high-water level during the first part of the Old Kingdom, especially during Dynasty 4. This is evident from the high ground elevation and long distance from the floodplain of the pyramids dated to that period. For instance, the remote position of the Bent and Red Pyramids in the desert, very far from the Nile floodplain, is a testament to the branch’s high-water level. On the contrary, during the Old Kingdom, our data demonstrated that the Ahramat Branch would have reached its lowest level during Dynasty 5. This is evident from the low altitudes and close proximity to the floodplain of most Dynasty 5 pyramids. The orientation of the Sahure Pyramid’s causeway (Dynasty 5) and the location of its valley temple in the low-lying floodplain provide compelling evidence for the relatively low water level proposition of the Ahramat Branch during this stage. The water level of the Ahramat Branch would have been slightly raised by the end of Dynasty 5 (the last 15–30 years), during the reign of King Unas and continued to rise during Dynasty 6. The position of Pepi II and Merenre Pyramids (Dynasty 6) deep in the desert, west of the Djedkare Isesi Pyramid (Dynasty 5), supports this notion.

It explains the position and relative water level of the Ahramat Branch during the time between the Old Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. a Shows positive correlation between the ground elevation of the pyramids and their proximity to the floodplain. b Shows positive correlation between the average ground elevation of the pyramids and their average proximity to the floodplain in each Dynasty. c Illustrates the water level interpretation by Hassan (1986) in Faiyum Lake in correlation to the average pyramids ground elevation and average distances to the floodplain in each Dynasty. d The data indicates that the Ahramat Branch had a high-water level during the first period of the Old Kingdom, especially during Dynasty 4. The water level reduced afterwards but was raised slightly in Dynasty 6. The position of the Middle Kingdom’s pyramids, which was at lower altitudes and in close proximity to the floodplain as compared to those of the Old Kingdom might be explained by the slight eastward migration of the Ahramat Branch.

In addition, our analysis in Fig. ( 4) , shows that the Qakare Ibi Pyramid of Dynasty 8 was constructed very close to the floodplain on very low elevation, which implies that the Nile water levels were very low at this time of the First Intermediate Period (2181–2055 BCE). This finding is in agreement with previous work conducted by Kitchen 20 which implies that the sudden collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt (after 4160 BCE) was largely caused by catastrophic failure of the annual flood of the Nile River for a period of 30–40 years. Data from soil cores near Memphis indicated that the Old Kingdom settlement is covered by about 3 m of sand 11 . Accordingly, the Ahramat Branch was initially positioned further west during the Old Kingdom and then shifted east during the Middle Kingdom due to the drought-induced sand encroachments of the First Intermediate Period, “a period of decentralization and weak pharaonic rule” in ancient Egypt, spanning about 125 years (2181–2055 BCE) post Old Kingdom era. Soil cores from the drilling program at Memphis show dominant dry conditions during the First Intermediate Period with massive eolian sand sheets extended over a distance of at least 0.5 km from the edge of the western desert escarpment 21 . The Ahramat Branch continued to move east during the Second Intermediate Period until it had gradually lost most of its water supply by the New Kingdom.

The western tributaries of the Ahramat Branch

Sentinal-1 radar data unveiled several wide channels (inlets) in the Western Desert Plateau connected to the Ahramat Branch. These inlets are currently covered by a layer of sand, thus partially invisible in multispectral satellite imagery. In Sentinal-1 radar imagery, the valley floors of these inlets appear darker than the surrounding surfaces, indicating subsurface fluvial deposits. These smooth deposits appear dark owing to the specular reflection of the radar signals away from the receiving antenna (Fig.  5a, b ) 22 . Considering that Sentinel-1’s C-Band has a penetration capability of approximately 50 cm in dry sand surface 23 , this would suggest that the riverbed of these channels is covered by at least half a meter of desert sand. Unlike these former inlets, the course of the Ahramat Branch is invisible in SAR data due in large part to the presence of dense farmlands in the floodplain, which limits radar penetration and the detection of underlying fluvial deposition. Moreover, the radar topographic data from TDX revealed the areal extent of these inlets. Their river courses were extracted from TDX data using the Topographic Position Index (TPI), an algorithm which is used to compute the topographic slope positions and to automate landform classifications (Fig.  5c, d ). Negative TPI values show the former riverbeds of the inlets, while positive TPI signify the riverbanks bordering them.

a Conceptual sketch of the dependence of surface roughness on the sensor wavelength λ (modified after 48 ). b Expected backscatter characteristics in sandy desert areas with buried dry riverbeds. c Dry channels/inlets masked by desert sand in the Dahshur area. d The channels’ courses were extracted using TPI. Negative TPI values highlight the courses of the channels while positive TPI signify their banks.

Analysis indicated that several of the pyramid’s causeways, from Dynasties 4 and 6, lead to the inlet’s riverbanks (Fig.  6 ). Among these pyramids, are the Bent Pyramid, the first pyramid built by King Snefru in Dynasty 4 and among the oldest, largest, and best preserved ancient Egyptian pyramids that predates the Giza Pyramids. This pyramid is situated at the royal necropolis of Dahshur. The position of the Bent Pyramid, deep in the desert, far from the modern Nile floodplain, remained unexplained by researchers. This pyramid has a long causeway (~700 m) that is paved in the desert with limestone blocks and is attached to a large valley temple. Although all the pyramids’ valley temples in Egypt are connected to a water body and served as the landing point of all the river-borne visitors, the valley temple of the Bent Pyramid is oddly located deep in the desert, very distant from any waterways and more than 1 km away from the western edge of the modern Nile floodplain. Radar data revealed that this temple overlooked the bank of one of these extinct channels (called Wadi al-Taflah in historical maps). This extinct channel (referred to hereafter as the Dahshur Inlet due to its geographical location) is more than 200 m wide on average (Fig.  6 ). In light of this finding, the Dahshur Inlet, and the Ahramat Branch, are thus strongly argued to have been active during Dynasty 4 and must have played an important role in transporting building materials to the Bent Pyramid site. The Dahshur Inlet could have also served the adjacent Red Pyramid, the second pyramid built by the same king (King Snefru) in the Dahshur area. Yet, no traces of a causeway nor of a valley temple has been found thus far for the Red Pyramid. Interestingly, pyramids in this site dated to the Middle Kingdom, including the Amenemhat III pyramid, also known as the Black Pyramid, White Pyramid, and Pyramid of Senusret III, are all located at least 1 km far to the east of the Dynasty 4 pyramids (Bent and Red) near the floodplain (Fig.  6 ), which once again supports the notion of the eastward shift of the Ahramat Branch after the Old Kingdom.

a The two inlets are presently covered by sand, thus invisible in optical satellite imagery. b Radar data, and c TDX topographic data reveal the riverbed of the Sakkara Inlet due to radar signals penetration capability in dry sand. b and c show the causeways of Pepi II and Merenre Pyramids, from Dynasty 6, leading to the Saqqara Inlet. The Valley Temple of Pepi II Pyramid overlooks the inlet riverbank, which indicates that the inlet, and thus Ahramat Branch, were active during Dynasty 6. d Radar data, and e TDX topographic data, reveal the riverbed of the Dahshur Inlet with the Bent Pyramid’s causeway of Dynasty 4 leading to the Inlet. The Valley Temple of the Bent Pyramid overlooks the riverbank of the Dahshur Inlet, which indicates that the inlet and the Ahramat Branch were active during Dynasty 4 of the Old Kingdom.

Radar satellite data revealed yet another sandy buried channel (tributary), about 6 km north of the Dahshur Inlet, to the west of the ancient city of Memphis. This former fluvial channel (referred to hereafter as the Saqqara Inlet due to its geographical location) connects to the Ahramat Branch with a broad river course of more than 600 m wide. Data shows that the causeways of the two pyramids of Pepi II and Merenre, situated at the royal necropolis of Saqqara and dated to Dynasty 6, lead directly to the banks of the Saqqara Inlet (see Fig.  6 ). The 400 m long causeway of Pepi II pyramid runs northeast over the southern Saqqara plateau and connects to the riverbank of the Saqqara Inlet from the south. The causeway terminates with a valley temple that lies on the inlet’s riverbank. The 250 long causeway of the Pyramid of Merenre runs southeast over the northern Saqqara plateau and connects to the riverbank of the Saqqara Inlet from the north. Since both pyramids dated to Dynasty 6, it can be argued that the water level of the Ahramat Branch was higher during this period, which would have flooded at least the entrance of its western inlets. This indicates that the downstream segment of the Saqqara Inlet was active during Dynasty 6 and played a vital role in transporting construction materials and workers to the two pyramids sites. The fact that none of the Dynasty 5 pyramids in this area (e.g., the Djedkare Isesi Pyramid) were positioned on the Saqqara Inlet suggests that the water level in the Ahramat Branch was not high enough to enter and submerge its inlets during this period.

In addition, our data analysis clearly shows that the causeways of the Khafre, Menkaure, and Khentkaus pyramids, in the Giza Plateau, lead to a smaller but equally important river bay associated with the Ahramat Branch. This lagoon-like river arm is referred to here as the Giza Inlet (Fig.  7 ). The Khufu Pyramid, the largest pyramid in Egypt, seems to be connected directly to the river course of the Ahramat Branch (Fig.  7 ). This finding proves once again that the Ahramat Branch and its western inlets were hydrologically active during Dynasty 4 of the Old Kingdom. Our ancient river inlet hypothesis is also in accordance with earlier research, conducted on the Giza Plateau, which indicates the presence of a river and marsh-like environment in the floodplain east of the Giza pyramids 2 .

The causeways of the four Pyramids lead to an inlet, which we named the Giza Inlet, that connects from the west with the Ahramat Branch. These causeways connect the pyramids with valley temples which acted as river harbors in antiquity. These river segments are invisible in optical satellite imagery since they are masked by the cultivated lands of the Nile floodplain. The photo shows the valley temple of Khafre Pyramid (Photo source: Author Eman Ghoneim).

During the Old Kingdom Period, our analysis suggests that the Ahramat Branch had a high-water level during the first part, especially during Dynasty 4 whereas this water level was significantly decreased during Dynasty 5. This finding is in agreement with previous studies which indicate a high Nile discharge during Dynasty 4 (e.g., ref. 24 ). Sediment isotopic analysis of the Nile Delta indicated that Nile flows decrease more rapidly by the end of Dynasty 4 25 , in addition 26 reported that during Dynasties 5 and 6 the Nile flows were the lowest of the entire Dynastic period. This long-lost Ahramat Branch (possibly a former Yazoo tributary to the Nile) was large enough to carry a large volume of the Nile discharge in the past. The ancient channel segment uncovered by 1 , 15 west of the city of Memphis through borehole logs is most likely a small section of the large Ahramat Branch detected in this study. In the Middle Kingdom, although previous studies implied that the Nile witnessed abundant flood with occasional failures (e.g., ref. 27 ), our analysis shows that all the pyramids from the Middle Kingdom were built far east of their Old Kingdom counterparts, on lower altitudes and in close proximity to the floodplain as compared to those of the Old Kingdom. This paradox might be explained by the fact that the Ahramat Branch migrated eastward, slightly away from the Western Desert escarpment, prior to the construction of the Middle Kingdom pyramids, resulting in the pyramids being built eastward so that they could be near the waterway.

The eastward migration and abandonment of the Ahramat Branch could be attributed to gradual tilting of the Nile delta and floodplain in lower Egypt towards the northeast due to tectonic activity 28 . A topographic tilt such as this would have accelerated river movement eastward due to the river being located in the west at a relatively higher elevation of the floodplain. While near-channel floodplain deposition would naturally lead to alluvial ridge development around the active Ahramat Branch, and therefore to lower-lying tracts of adjacent floodplain to the east, regional tilting may explain the wholesale lateral migration of the river in that direction. The eastward migration and abandonment of the branch could also be ascribed to sand incursion due to the branch’s proximity to the Western Desert Plateau, where windblown sand is abundant. This would have increased sand deposition along the riverbanks and caused the river to silt up, particularly during periods of low flow. The region experienced drought during the First Intermediate Period, prior to the Middle Kingdom. In the area of Abu Rawash north 29 and Dahshur site 11 , settlements from the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom were found to be covered by more than 3 m of desert sands. During this time, windblown sand engulfed the Old Kingdom settlements and desert sands extended eastward downhill over a distance of at least 0.5 km 21 . The abandonment of sites at Abusir (5 th Dynasty), where the early pottery-rich deposits are covered by wind-blown sand and then mud without sherds, can be used as evidence that the Ahramat Branch migrated eastward after the Old Kingdom. The increased sand deposition activity, during the end of the Old Kingdom, and throughout the First Intermediate Period, was most likely linked to the period of drought and desertification of the Sahara 30 . In addition, the reduced river discharge caused by decreased rainfall and increased aridity in the region would have gradually reduced the river course’s capacity, leading to silting and abandonment of the Ahramat Branch as the river migrated to the east.

The Dahshur, Saqqara, and Giza inlets, which were connected to the Ahramat Branch from the west, were remnants of past active drainage systems dated to the late Tertiary or the Pleistocene when rainwater was plentiful 31 . It is proposed that the downstream reaches of these former channels (wadis) were submerged during times of high-water levels of the Ahramat Branch, forming long narrow water arms (inlets) that gave a wedge-like shape to the western flank of the Ahramat Branch. During the Old Kingdom, the waters of these inlets would have flowed westward from the Ahramat Branch rather than from their headwaters. As the drought intensified during the First Intermediate Period, the water level of the Ahramat Branch was lowered and withdrew from its western inlets, causing them to silt up and eventually dry out. The Dahshur, Saqqara, and Giza inlets would have provided a bay environment where the water would have been calm enough for vessels and boats to dock far from the busy, open water of the Ahramat Branch.

Sediments from the Ahramat Branch riverbed, which were collected from the two deep soil cores (cores A and B), show an abrupt shift from well-sorted medium sands at depth to overlying finer materials with layers including gravel, shell, and handmade materials. This indicates a step-change from a relatively consistent higher-energy depositional regime to a generally lower-energy depositional regime with periodic flash floods at these sites. So, the Ahramat Branch in this region carried and deposited well-sorted medium sand during its last active phase, and over time became inactive, infilling with sand and mud until an abrupt change led the (by then) shallow depression fill with finer distal floodplain sediment (possibly in a wetland) that was utilized by people and experienced periodic flash flooding. Validation of the paleo-channel position and sediment type using these cores shows that the Ahramat Branch has similar morphological features and an upward-fining depositional sequence as that reported near Giza, where two cores were previously used to reconstruct late Holocene Nile floodplain paleo-environments 2 . Further deep soil coring could determine how consistent the geomorphological features are along the length of the Ahramat branch, and to help explain anomalies in areas where the branch has less surface expression and where remote sensing and geophysical techniques have limitations. Considering more core logs can give a better understanding of the floodplain and the buried paleo-channels.

The position of the Ahramat Branch along the western edge of the Nile floodplain suggests it to be the downstream extension of Bahr Yusef. In fact, Bahr Yusef’s course may have initially flowed north following the natural surface gradient of the floodplain before being forced to turn west to flow into the Fayum Depression. This assumption could be supported by the sharp westward bend of Bahr Yusef’s course at the entrance to the Fayum Depression, which could be a man-made attempt to change the waterflow direction of this branch. According to Römer 32 , during the Middle Kingdom, the Gadallah Dam located at the entrance of the Fayum, and a possible continuation running eastwards, blocked the flow of Bahr Yusef towards the north. However, a sluice, probably located near the village of el-Lahun, was created in order to better control the flow of water into the Fayum. When the sluice was locked, the water from Bahr Yusef was directed to the west and into the depression, and when the sluice was open, the water would flow towards the north via the course of the Ahramat Branch. Today, the abandoned Ahramat Branch north of Fayum appears to support subsurface water flow in the buried coarse sand bed layers, however these shallow groundwater levels are likely to be quite variable due to proximity of the bed layers to canals and other waterways that artificially maintain shallow groundwater. Groundwater levels in the region are known to be variable 33 , but data on shallow groundwater could be used to further validate the delineated paleo-channel of the Ahramat Branch.

The present work enabled the detection of segments of a major former Nile branch running at the foothills of the Western Desert Plateau, where the vast majority of the Ancient Egyptian pyramids lie. The enormity of this branch and its proximity to the pyramid complexes, in addition to the fact that the pyramids’ causeways terminate at its riverbank, all imply that this branch was active and operational during the construction phase of these pyramids. This waterway would have connected important locations in ancient Egypt, including cities and towns, and therefore, played an important role in the cultural landscape of the region. The eastward migration and abandonment of the Ahramat Branch could be attributed to gradual movement of the river to the lower-lying adjacent floodplain or tilting of the Nile floodplain toward the northeast as a result of tectonic activity, as well as windblown sand incursion due to the branch’s proximity to the Western Desert Plateau. The increased sand deposition was most likely related to periods of desertification of the Great Sahara in North Africa. In addition, the branch eastward movement and diminishing could be explained by the reduction of the river discharge and channel capacity caused by the decreased precipitation and increased aridity in the region, particularly during the end of the Old Kingdom.

The integration of radar satellite data with geophysical surveying and soil coring, which we utilized in this study, is a highly adaptable approach in locating similar former buried river systems in arid regions worldwide. Mapping the hidden course of the Ahramat Branch, allowed us to piece together a more complete picture of ancient Egypt’s former landscape and a possible water transportation route in Lower Egypt, in the area between Lisht and the Giza Plateau.

Revealing this extinct Nile branch can provide a more refined idea of where ancient settlements were possibly located in relation to it and prevent them from being lost to rapid urbanization. This could improve the protection measures of Egyptian cultural heritage. It is the hope that our findings can improve conservation measures and raise awareness of these sites for modern development planning. By understanding the landscape of the Nile floodplain and its environmental history, archeologists will be better equipped to prioritize locations for fieldwork investigation and, consequently, raise awareness of these sites for conservation purposes and modern development planning. Our finding has filled a much-needed knowledge gap related to the dominant waterscape in ancient Egypt, which could help inform and educate a wide array of global audiences about how earlier inhabitants were living and in what ways shifts in their landscape drove human activity in such an iconic region.

Materials and methods

The work comprised of two main elements: satellite remote sensing and historical maps and geophysical survey and sediment coring, complemented by archeological resources. Using this suite of investigative techniques provided insights into the nature and relationship of the former Ahramat Branch with the geographical location of the pyramid complexes in Egypt.

Satellite remote sensing and historical maps

Unlike optical sensors that image the land surface, radar sensors image the subsurface due to their unique ability to penetrate the ground and produce images of hidden paleo-rivers and structures. In this context, radar waves strip away the surface sand layer and expose previously unidentified buried channels. The penetration capability of radar waves in the hyper-arid regions of North Africa is well documented 4 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 . The penetration depth varies according to the radar wavelength used at the time of imaging. Radar signal penetration becomes possible without significant attenuation if the surface cover material is extremely dry (<1% moisture content), fine grained (<1/5 of the imaging wavelength) and physically homogeneous 23 . When penetrating desert sand, radar signals have the ability to detect subsurface soil roughness, texture, compactness, and dielectric properties 38 . We used the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-1 data, a radar satellite constellation consisting of a C-Band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor, operating at 5.405 GHz. The Sentinel-1 SAR image used here was acquired in a descending orbit with an interferometric wide swath mode (IW) at ground resolutions of 5 m × 20 m, and dual polarizations of VV + VH. Since Sentinal-1 is operated in the C-Band, it has an estimated penetration depth of 50 cm in very dry, sandy, loose soils 39 . We used ENVI v. 5.7 SARscape software for processing radar imagery. The used SAR processing sequences have generated geo-coded, orthorectified, terrain-corrected, noise free, radiometrically calibrated, and normalized Sentinel-1 images with a pixel size of 12.5 m. In SAR imagery subsurface fluvial deposits appear dark owing to specular reflection of the radar signals away from the receiving antenna, whereas buried coarse and compacted material, such as archeological remains appear bright due to diffuse reflection of radar signals 40 .

Other previous studies have shown that combining radar topographic imagery (e.g., Shuttle Radar Topography Mission-SRTM) with SAR images improves the extraction and delineation of mega paleo-drainage systems and lake basins concealed under present-day topographic signatures 3 , 4 , 22 , 41 . Topographic data represents a primary tool in investigating surface landforms and geomorphological change both spatially and temporally. This data is vital in mapping past river systems due to its ability to show subtle variations in landform morphology 37 . In low lying areas, such as the Nile floodplain, detailed elevation data can detect abandoned channels, fossilized natural levees, river meander scars and former islands, which are all crucial elements for reconstructing the ancient Nile hydrological network. In fact, the modern topography in many parts of the study area is still a good analog of the past landscape. In the present study, TanDEM-X (TDX) topographic data, from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), has been utilized in ArcGIS Pro v. 3.1 software due to its fine spatial resolution of 0.4 arc-second ( ∼ 12 m). TDX is based on high frequency X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) (9.65 GHz) and has a relative vertical accuracy of 2 m for areas with a slope of ≤20% 42 . This data was found to be superior to other topographic DEMs (e.g., Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and ASTER Global Digital Elevation Map) in displaying fine topographic features even in the cultivated Nile floodplain, thus making it particularly well suited for this study. Similar archeological investigations using TDX elevation data in the flat terrains of the Seyhan River in Turkey and the Nile Delta 43 , 44 allowed for the detection of levees and other geomorphologic features in unprecedented spatial resolution. We used the Topographic Position Index (TPI) module of 45 with the TDX data by applying varying neighboring radiuses (20–100 m) to compute the difference between a cell elevation value and the average elevation of the neighborhood around that cell. TPI values of zero are either flat surfaces with minimal slope, or surfaces with a constant gradient. The TPI can be computed using the following expression 46 .

Where the scaleFactor is the outer radius in map units and Irad and Orad are the inner and outer radius of annulus in cells. Negative TPI values highlight abandoned riverbeds and meander scars, while positive TPI signify the riverbanks and natural levees bordering them.

The course of the Ahramat Branch was mapped from multiple data sources and used different approaches. For instance, some segments of the river course were derived automatically using the TPI approach, particularly in the cultivated floodplain, whereas others were mapped using radar roughness signatures specially in sandy desert areas. Moreover, a number of abandoned channel segments were digitized on screen from rectified historical maps (Egyptian Survey Department scale 1:50,000 collected on years 1910–1911) near the foothill of the Western Desert Plateau. These channel segments together with the former river course segments delineated from radar and topographic data were aggregated to generate the former Ahramat Branch. In addition to this and to ensure that none of the channel segments of the Ahramat Branch were left unmapped during the automated process, a systematic grid-based survey (through expert’s visual observation) was performed on the satellite data. Here, Landsat 8 and Sentinal-2 multispectral images, Sentinal-1 radar images and TDX topographic data were used as base layers, which were thoroughly examined, grid-square by grid-square (2*2 km per a square) at a full resolution, in order to identify small-scale fluvial landforms, anomalous agricultural field patterns and irregular ditches, and determine their spatial distributions. Here, ancient fluvial channels were identified using two key aspects: First, the sinuous geometry of natural and manmade features and, second the color tone variations in the satellite imagery. For example, clusters of contiguous pixels with darker tones and sinuous shapes may signify areas of a higher moisture content in optical imagery, and hence the possible existence of a buried riverbed. Stretching and edge detection were applied to enhance contrasts in satellite images brightness to enable the visualization of traces of buried river segments that would otherwise go unobserved. Lastly, all the pyramids and causeways in the study site, along with ancient harbors and valley temples, as indicators of preexisting river channels, were digitized from satellite data and available archeological resources and overlaid onto the delineated Ahramat Branch for geospatial analysis.

Geophysical survey and sediment coring

Geophysical measurements using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electromagnetic Tomography (EMT) were utilized to map subsurface fluvial features and validate the satellite remote sensing findings. GPR is effective in detecting changes of dielectric constant properties of sediment layers, and its signal responses can be directly related to changes in relative porosity, material composition, and moisture content. Therefore, GPR can help in identifying transitional boundaries in subsurface layers. EMT, on the other hand, shows the variations and thickness of large-scale sedimentary deposits and is more useful in clay-rich soil than GPR. In summer 2022, a geophysical profile was measured using GPR and EMT units with a total length of approximately 1.2 km. The GPR survey was conducted with a central frequency antenna of 35 MHz and a trigger interval of 5 cm. The EMT survey was performed using the multi-frequency terrain conductivity (EM–34–3) measuring system with a spacing of 10–11 meters between stations. To validate the remote sensing and geophysical data, two sediment cores with depths of 20 m (Core A) and 13 m (Core B) were collected using a deep soil driller. These cores were collected from along the geophysical profile in the floodplain. Sieving and organic analysis were performed on the sediment samples at Tanta University sediment lab to extract information about grain size for soil texture and total organic carbon. In soil texture analysis medium to coarse sediment, such as sands, are typical for river channel sediments, loamy sand and sandy loam deposits can be interpreted as levees and crevasse splays, whereas fine texture deposits, such as silt loam, silty clay loam, and clay deposits, are representative of the more distal parts of the river floodplain 47 .

Data availability

Data for replicating the results of this study are available as supplementary files at: https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Pyramids_Elevations_and_Distances_xlsx/25216259 .

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by NSF grant # 2114295 awarded to E.G., S.O. and T.R. and partially supported by Research Momentum Fund, UNCW, to E.G. TanDEM-X data was awarded to E.G. and R.E by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) (contract # DEM_OTHER2886). Permissions for collecting soil coring and sampling were obtained from the Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt by coauthors Dr. Amr Fhail and Dr. Mohamed Fathy. Bradley Graves at Macquarie University assisted with preparation of the sedimentological figures. Hamada Salama at NRIAG assisted with the GPR field data collection.

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Eman Ghoneim

School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie, NSW, 2109, Australia

Timothy J. Ralph

Department of History, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152-3450, USA

Suzanne Onstine

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

Raghda El-Behaedi

National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Helwan, Cairo, 11421, Egypt

Gad El-Qady, Mahfooz Hafez, Magdy Atya, Mohamed Ebrahim & Ashraf Khozym

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Eman Ghoneim conceived the ideas, lead the research project, and conducted the data processing and interpretations. The manuscript was written and prepared by Eman Ghoneim. Timothy J. Ralph co-supervised the project, contributed to the geomorphological and sedimentological interpretations, edited the manuscript and the figures. Suzanne Onstine co-supervised the project, contributed to the archeological and historical interpretations, and edited the manuscript. Raghda El-Behaedi contributed to the remote sensing data processing and methodology and edited the manuscript. Gad El-Qady supervised the geophysical survey. Mahfooz Hafez, Magdy Atya, Mohamed Ebrahim, Ashraf Khozym designed, collected, and interpreted the GPR and EMT data. Amr S. Fahil and Mohamed S. Fathy supervised the soil coring, sediment analysis, drafted sedimentological figures and contributed to the interpretations. All authors reviewed the manuscript and participated in the fieldwork.

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Ghoneim, E., Ralph, T.J., Onstine, S. et al. The Egyptian pyramid chain was built along the now abandoned Ahramat Nile Branch. Commun Earth Environ 5 , 233 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01379-7

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01379-7

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