On 24 April 2012, the Libyan Desert Expedition Team successfully completed the very first 3,700 kilometer circumnavigation of the Egyptian Desert.
The expedition took a route never before explored along E 26 in the Great Sand Sea of Egypt.
Two previously undocumented and recorded sites related to the British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) were discovered and a pre-pharonic watchtower, a round settlement structure and directional markers were discovered on a plateau approximately 90 kilometers north of Aqaba Pass in the Gilf el- Kibir.
Project Goal
- Demonstrate that advances in satellite imagery can be used to directly locate specific targets of interest.
- To search for new, unknown ruins and cultural sites in a previously unexplored area of the Great Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert North of the Gilf el Kibir
- To search for possible traces of ancient settlements and trading routes
Project Team
- Toby Savage, Expedition Organizer
- Mahmoud Marai, Expedition Leader &; Desert Explorer
- John Carroll, Technical Advisor
- Rick Pewe, Geologist & Mechanical Advisor
- Sam Watson, Historical Advisor
- Karl-Gunnar Noren, Historian
- Robert J Atwater, Field Investigator
- Jason Paterniti, Field Investigator
- Dr. Albert Lin, Technical Advisor, Director , National Geographic Engineers for Exploration Program
- Dr. Nathan Ricklin, Field System Engineer, The Exploration Lab
- Mohammed Sabry, Cook
- Tarek Abd El Fatah, Mechanic and Cook
- Islam Samir, Iveco Driver
- Mohammed Fawzy Military Liason
- Sherief Hassan, Police Liason