Objective
Securing and managing water in extreme environments was crucial for the success of ancient societies—a challenge still urgent in today’s arid regions. Despite extensive research on the Nile Valley, the strategies used by communities in surrounding deserts to cope with scarce water and environmental stress remain poorly understood. At the centre of this question is the Wadi al-Garawi Dam (WaGD) in the southeast of Cairo, the earliest large-scale dam in Africa and unprecedented in Pharaonic hydraulic engineering. Despite its scale, WaGD has never been systematically studied, leaving unresolved why it was built, how it functioned, and its role in desert societies.
The WADIS project pioneers a multidisciplinary investigation of this unique structure, asking why ancient Egyptians invested in such an exceptional hydraulic system outside the Nile Valley. Using hydrological modelling, GIS-based spatial and network analysis, 3D reconstruction, and comparative studies, it will: (1) reconstruct palaeoenvironmental and hydrological conditions to test the dam function; (2) examine its construction, operation, and integration within socio-political and logistical networks; and (3) develop a replicable framework to study desert water management in Egypt and other arid regions.
Hosted at Uppsala University, the project includes a secondment to HiSoMA Lab (France), and short visits to the University of Freiburg (Germany) and the UNESCO Chair in Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage (Egypt), providing advanced training in archaeology of water management, geomatics, and hydraulic modelling to consolidate the fellow’s independence and transferable expertise.
WADIS will transform understanding of desert water strategies by situating the WaGD within debates on environmental stress, technological innovation, and state power, while also providing new tools to study resilience in arid landscapes and significantly enhancing the fellow’s capacity to lead EU interdisciplinary research.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
751 05 Uppsala
Sweden
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.