Groundwater at Hawara has risen over the past century and now sits roughly 0.5–5 metres below the surrounding surface, with lower parts of the underground complex inundated. The 1970 completion of the Aswan High Dam ended the Nile’s regular flooding and altered groundwater levels across the Nile Valley. The groundwater is saline, and salt-laden moisture can contribute to erosion of the complex’s stonework. Shallow water moving through sedimentary layers from the southwest, north and east continues to threaten Hawara’s buried structures.
Rising groundwater threatens Hawara’s underground complex
EgyptConservation
Key facts
- The groundwater table at Hawara is approximately 0.5–5 metres below the surrounding topographic surface, not above it, and has inundated lower parts of the underground complex.
- The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970 after construction began in the 1960s; before the dam, Nile Valley groundwater fluctuated with annual Nile flooding.
- The groundwater is saline, and salt weathering can contribute to erosion of the site's stone structures.
- A groundwater study of the Hawara Pyramid reports water within roughly 2.5 metres of the entrance.
- Polish-led geological research identifies shallow groundwater inflow from the southwest, north and east through sedimentary layers.
Sources
The Aswan High Dam - Everything Everywhereeverything-everywhere.com
The reason for this had to do with the flooding of the Nile. When it did flood, it would deposit nutrient-rich soil along the Nile's floodplain. This is what ...
The Nile River and Aswan Dam | EARTH 111 - EMS Online Coursescourses.ems.psu.edu
Because once-regular floods no longer flush salts, sewage, fertilizers, and waste from the delta, surface waters are polluted and those living near the ...
[PDF] The Nile: Natural and Cultural Landscape in Egypt - OAPEN Librarylibrary.oapen.org
of the Aswan High Dam, i.e. before the annual floods disappeared. Landsat. TM ... This would have the effect of raising the water table in that lake.
Fifty years on, the Nile dam that changed the face of Egyptmontreal.citynews.ca
Despite the numerous benefits it brought, the Aswan High Dam also had negative side-effects. It increased the salt content of the soil used ...
Groundwater Rising as Environmental Problem, Causes and Solutionsscirp.org
This paper examines the rise in the level of the groundwater in the Quaternary aquifer at Aswan city, Upper Egypt.
The Lost Egyptian Labyrinth of Hawaratheancientconnection.com
The Egyptian pyramid of Hawara is only the tip of the iceberg of a "lost" underground building: the megalithic Labyrinth of Hawara.
The Project - Virtual Hawaravirtualhawara.com
The underground water level has increased over the past century and now reaches approximately 5 meters below the topographic surface and has inundated the ...
Labyrinth of Egypten.wikipedia.org
The Labyrinth of Egypt was a structure, or temple, built south of Amenemhat III's pyramid at Hawara. Not much is known about its use, but it was probably a ...
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