Egypt
- Project Resumed In Luxor To Protect Temples From Subterranean Water
Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref) Following nine months of delay, an American-Egyptian mission responsible for lowering ground water at archaeological sites in Luxor resumed its work today. The project aims to decrease the subterranean water level that has...
- Saving The West Bank Temples In Luxor
Luxor News Blog (Jane Akshar) Good news about the problems of the rising of the water table and destruction of the monuments. The problems is that with the building of the Aswan Dam water is now available to the farmer all year round. The temples were...
- Keeping The Great Sphinx’s Paws Dry
drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass) Includes diagrams, photographs and a map. Perhaps the single greatest threat to the preservation of Egypt’s monuments is the rising level of underground water throughout the country. Runoff from sewage and agriculture, along...
- Mummification Museum Lecture, Hidden Thebes – Ted Brock
Luxor News Blog (Jane Akshar) Mummification Museum lecture 20th Dec 2008 Hidden Thebes – Ted Brock Lost and Unknown Monuments Outside Karnak Temple Ted was on two projects which revealed hidden parts of Karnak. The first was a sewage project and the...
- Lecture Series At Luxor Mummification Museum
http://touregypt.net/teblog/luxornews/?p=314Thanks very much to Jane Akshar and her Luxor News Blog for the information that the Luxor Mummification Museum has announced its new lecture series, now being held on a Sunday, and kicking off with an update...
Egypt
Dewatering project at Karnak and Luxor Temples
http://touregypt.net/teblog/luxornews/?p=320
Dr Edwin Brock's lecture at the Mummification Museum in Luxor on the 5th November 2006 has been summarized at the above address by Jane Akshar, on her Luxor News Blog:
"The project was inaugurated in January last year by Dr Zahi Hawass and specialist form the US and Sweden. It is expected to finish at the end of this month.
The reason it was needed was that Karnak and Luxor temples, (in fact all temples in Egypt) were at risk from the rising water table.
This has been caused by irrigation especially of water hungry crops like sugar cane. This means the foundations of the temples are constantly in contact with water. The capillary action within the stone draws the water up and natural evaporation causes slats to be deposited on the surface or just underneath he surface of the stone. This then crystallises below the surface of the stone and forces the stone o separate. The surface is pushed out and this causes the loss of decoration. Additionally the constant moisture itself makes the stone to revert to its original state of sand. Eventually the block itself disintegrates. This affects limestone at well as sandstone.
A consortium of Egyptian, US and Swedish companies and people is addressing the problem. The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the client, it is financed by US and Sweden; SWECO project manage with the work actually being done by EGYCO."
The reason it was needed was that Karnak and Luxor temples, (in fact all temples in Egypt) were at risk from the rising water table.
This has been caused by irrigation especially of water hungry crops like sugar cane. This means the foundations of the temples are constantly in contact with water. The capillary action within the stone draws the water up and natural evaporation causes slats to be deposited on the surface or just underneath he surface of the stone. This then crystallises below the surface of the stone and forces the stone o separate. The surface is pushed out and this causes the loss of decoration. Additionally the constant moisture itself makes the stone to revert to its original state of sand. Eventually the block itself disintegrates. This affects limestone at well as sandstone.
A consortium of Egyptian, US and Swedish companies and people is addressing the problem. The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the client, it is financed by US and Sweden; SWECO project manage with the work actually being done by EGYCO."
The summary is accompanied by photographs. See the above page for the full story.
- Project Resumed In Luxor To Protect Temples From Subterranean Water
Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref) Following nine months of delay, an American-Egyptian mission responsible for lowering ground water at archaeological sites in Luxor resumed its work today. The project aims to decrease the subterranean water level that has...
- Saving The West Bank Temples In Luxor
Luxor News Blog (Jane Akshar) Good news about the problems of the rising of the water table and destruction of the monuments. The problems is that with the building of the Aswan Dam water is now available to the farmer all year round. The temples were...
- Keeping The Great Sphinx’s Paws Dry
drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass) Includes diagrams, photographs and a map. Perhaps the single greatest threat to the preservation of Egypt’s monuments is the rising level of underground water throughout the country. Runoff from sewage and agriculture, along...
- Mummification Museum Lecture, Hidden Thebes – Ted Brock
Luxor News Blog (Jane Akshar) Mummification Museum lecture 20th Dec 2008 Hidden Thebes – Ted Brock Lost and Unknown Monuments Outside Karnak Temple Ted was on two projects which revealed hidden parts of Karnak. The first was a sewage project and the...
- Lecture Series At Luxor Mummification Museum
http://touregypt.net/teblog/luxornews/?p=314Thanks very much to Jane Akshar and her Luxor News Blog for the information that the Luxor Mummification Museum has announced its new lecture series, now being held on a Sunday, and kicking off with an update...