Excavations at a remote administrative outpost on the western edge of the Faiyum Oasis have unearthed an intact 12th-Dynasty administrative archive belonging to the 'Director of the Western Way'. The cache includes several rolls of papyrus that serve as a formal registry of desert scouts and caravan guides, detailing their specialized knowledge of remote water sources and celestial navigation markers in the Sahara.
Most notably, the find includes two rare pictorial trail-maps, illustrating the specific landmarks used by Egyptian expeditions to reach far-flung mineral mines. These maps represent some of the earliest known examples of Egyptian cartography intended for navigation rather than ritual use, highlighting the pharaonic state's sophisticated control over its desert frontiers during the Middle Kingdom.