Title: Wind, Sand and Water. The Orientation of the Late Roman Forts in the Kharga Oasis (Egyptian Western Desert),
Abstract: The chain of late Roman fortified settlements built in the Kharga Oasis, in
Egypt Western Desert, represents an interesting case study to analyse how the
ancient Roman town planners interacted with the landscape. A peculiar feature
of the site is the existence of a prevailing, north westerly wind, and it is
possible to identify the average azimuth of the wind by measuring the central
axes of the halfmoon shaped sand dunes which characterize the landscape. Using
the methods of Archaeoastronomy, we compared these azimuths with the orthogonal
layout of both the settlements and the agricultural installations and showed
that these are oriented on the prevailing wind. A description and the possible
implications of this <<weathervane orientation>> are discussed in this article.