Strabo confirms in 15 AD, that Rhinocolura is the same town as Tharu in 1450 BC: “After Gaza one comes to Rhaphia, where a battle was fought between Ptolemaeus the Fourth and Antiochus the Great. Then to Rhinocolura, so called from the people with mutilated noses that had been settled there in early times; for some Ethiopian invaded Egypt and, instead of killing the wrongdoers, cut off their noses and settled them at that place, assuming that on account of their disgraceful faces they would no longer dare to do people wrong. Now the whole of this country from Gaza is barren and sandy, but still more so is the country that lies next above it, which contains Lake Sirbonis, a lake which lies approximately parallel to the sea and, in the interval, leaves a short passage as far as the Ecregma, as it is called; the lake is about two hundred stadia in length and its maximum breadth is about sixty stadia; but the Ecregma his become filled up with earth. Then follows another continuous tract of this kind as far as Casius; and then one comes to Pelusium.” (Strabo, Geographia, XVI,2,31-32)
Feeling humble when we consider the legacy of the ancient cultures.
Thanks FN, a little more on Ecregma:
http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Plt_Antn_03
> And whereas all were of opinion that the most dangerous thing before them was the march to Pelusium, in which they would have to pass over a deep sand, where no fresh water was to be hoped for, along the Ecregma and the Serbonian marsh (which the Egyptians call Typhon’s breathing-hole, and which is, in probability, water left behind by, or making its way through from, the Red Sea, which is here divided from the Mediterranean by a narrow isthmus), Antony, being ordered thither with the horse, not only made himself master of the passes, but won Pelusium itself, a great city, took the garrison prisoners, and, by this means, rendered the march secure to the army, and the way to victory not difficult for the general to pursue.