As many as seven Nile distributaries once

As many as seven Nile distributaries once snaked across the
delta to create a network of river arms, islands, seasonally flooded
basins, and swamps. Around 5000 b.c., Neolithic people exploited
the Nile Delta, much as they did the Nile Valley, planting crops,
herding animals, and fishing and fowling in the wetlands. During
early Pharaonic times (about 2700–2300 b.c.), ancient Egyptians
called the wetlands the “bird tanks of pleasure” and the “papyrus
lands.” Wealthy men hunted birds for sport in these areas, where
papyrus and lotus were the most commonly found plants.
People eventually tamed the delta wildlands, although later
than the Nile Valley. Beginning around 300 b.c., Greek and
later Roman colonists developed the region, turning marshes
into vineyards and orchards, and establishing new towns. Pres-
sure on the wetlands intensified. Eventually even papyrus, the
Pharaonic symbol of Lower Egypt, became extinct there. The
demand for paper products had resulted in its extensive culti-
vation, although it also grew wild. But the plant was doomed
once linen paper was substituted for papyrus in the tenth cen-
tury. Papyrus was uprooted to make way for new agricultural
land. It was gone by 1821.