Ruins of the extinct city of Karanis, Kom Oshîm, near Al Fayyūm, Egypt

Object Details

Local Numbers: Negative number 72658 AC-14, 25A.
General: Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note: Typed index card reads, "Y 6 Egy. Egypt. Komshin near Fayum. Greco-Roman ruins. Roman Period. 3/1965. EE. neg.no. 72658 AC-14, 25A." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.

See more items in: Eliot Elisofon Field collection; Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Egypt

Archival Repository: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Type: Archival materials; Negatives (photographic); Black-and-white negatives; Negatives

Collection Citation: Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

Collection Rights: Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Scope and Contents: "Having an area of 490 mi² (1,270 km²), Al Fayyum is an oasis and a distinctive region in character between the main Nile Valley and other desert oases: its fields are watered by a channel of the Nile, the Bahr Yussef, as it drains into a desert depression to the west of the Nile Valley. Karanis was one of the largest Greco-Roman cities in the Fayyum. It was founded in the third century BC, probably by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The ruins of Karanis are situated on a huge mound which rises about twelve meters above the surround plain. At the time, the town would have been located on the shores of Lake Qarun." This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Institute of Architects, directing the Egyptian portion of the documentary on Ancient Egypt, March 1965 and September 1965.

Collection Restrictions: Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.