 It then became a quarry used to build new settlements nearby, including a new capital founded by the Arabs who took possession in the 7th century.The foundations of Fustat and later Cairo, both built further north, were laid with stones of dismantled temples and ancient necropoleis of Memphis.In the 13th century, the Arab chronicler Abd-ul-Latif, upon visiting the site, describes and gives testimony to the grandeur of the ruins.