Was playing on Google Earth, started following the Nile River down through Egypt then found all this stuff. What am I looking at here?

by ireece

I took a screenshot here.

Are those old foundations for buildings? And what about the subtle outlines of small rectangular blocks.

Superplaner

Okay so the "foundations" here are walls. Keep in mind this is from a 200 meter elevation. They're walls, some of these structures are roofed, some aren't. The foundations are typical of Nile valley farmhouses. You'll find these more or less square one story houses with an open inner courtyard everywhere in the Egyptian countryside. The faint regular outlines in the dirt are abandoned plantations, I can't tell which kind from this distance.

Based on this information I'd say you're looking at a contemporary farming community that was abandoned relatively recently, alternatively it is not abandoned but still under construction. Anyway, it's very much a contemporary thing although the land itself has probably been inhabited and farmed for a few thousand years.