Bedded in the sands of Al-Fayoum is a different understanding of Egyptian history; here, there are no temple tracks and incense, no inked Coptic and no athan. Rather, in a time-sculpted expanse, Wadi al-Hitan (Valley of the Whales) carries some of evolution’s most baffling finds. A collection of whale fossils – with hind legs. Dating back 40 to 50 million years, Wadi al-Hitan is a paleontological miracle-find; although not the oldest site worldwide, it presents an interesting subset of questions that have yet to be answered—rather, it introduces more questions than answers, period. Still, with millions of skeletal remains intact, including some with the contents of their stomachs available for study, Wadi al-Hitan is a remarkable, game-changing discovery. The large fossil collection poses a scientific promise, consisting of a long-extinct suborder of whales known as the archaeoceti revealed by winds, erosion, and archeological excavation. Set apart from their modern, seafaring counterparts, the critical addition of legs suggests a land-based origin for whales as a species. After its discovery in 1902, Wadi al-Hitan has been cited as a “rare and valuable snapshot of whales in the final stages of losing their…
