Fishing with Cast Nets in Ancient Egypt

The scarce publications on fishing in ancient Egypt cited in archaeological and Egyptological research contain little reference to cast nets being used as a fish catching method for catching fish, and the information that is available is contradictory. There are also no systematic studies on fishing and, so far, no comprehensive typology adapted to the particularities of the Egyptian fishing tackle developed. We start from the hypothesis that cast net was one of the fishing methods in ancient Egypt, at least from the 12th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. We try to confirm that its origin can be traced back to the Epipalaeolithic Period, as it has been suggested, as well as suggest the first classification of lead net weights from archaeological sites in Egypt and, in addition, that it is possible to draw on Egyptian iconography as a source to prove the use of this fishing gear. This article considers archaeological records, as well as documentary, literary, iconographic and ethnographic sources to accomplish the objectives proposed. We conclude that the data allow us to confirm the existence of fishing with cast nets from the proposed date along with additional evidence of its possible use from the Epipalaeolithic Period, identifying several fishing scenes with cast nets in the iconography, showing the typology, the gear, and the fishing activity.