The Nile : natural and cultural landscape in Egypt Although Herodots dictum that Egypt is a gift of the Nile is proverbial there has been only scant attention to the way the river impacted on ancient Egyptian society. Egyptologists frequently focus on the textual and iconographic record whereas archaeologists and earth scientists approach the issue from the perspective of natural sciences. The contributions in this volume bridge this gap by analyzing the river both as a natural and as a cultural phenomenon. Adopting an approach of cultural ecology it addresses issues like ancient land use administration and taxation irrigation and religious concepts.