The upstream dam slowed floodwater so sediment settled out, while the downstream dam held cleaner water — together forming an 8.5-hectare reservoir holding at least 230,000 cubic meters. Karl Richard Lepsius documented violent runoff on the Giza plateau in 1843 that swept away tents and iron crowbars, and the Menkaure valley temple was apparently destroyed by flooding. The westernmost dam even features a zigzag spillway.
Two-dam system with reservoir and spillway identified at Dahshur
EgyptArchitecture
Key facts
- Upstream dam functioned as a check dam to slow flood water and allow stone, sand, and sediment to settle
- Downstream dam functioned as the main retention dam, with cleaner water passing between them
- Space between the two dams formed a reservoir covering approximately 8.5 hectares with capacity of at least 230,000 cubic meters of water
- Karl Richard Lepsius witnessed destructive high-energy runoff on the Giza Plateau during a severe rainstorm in 1843, capable of washing away tents and iron crowbars
- The Menkaure valley temple appears to have been destroyed by flood waters in the Old Kingdom
- Center of the westernmost dam features a large zigzag/triangular section interpreted as a possible duckbill spillway designed to release large volumes of water without dangerously raising the water level behind it
Site mentioned
Sources
Menkaure Valley Temple | Digital Gizamused.com
Menkaure's Valley Temple is one of the most complex and fascinating structures of monumental architecture on the Giza Plateau. It is a part of the Menkaure
Menkaure Valley Temple - Digital Gizagiza.fas.harvard.edu
surface of decay above offering room, burial (late) in W wall of 260. paved causeway in center of court and ramp up to 718.
Menkaure's Valley Temple, A Layman's Guideacademia.edu
Several factors led to the flood damage which would breach into the first temple phase; Resiner would state; “The Mycerinus valley temple was in a fatal ...
Khentkawes Town and the Menkaure Valley Temple|AERAaeraweb.org
... flood left the First Temple abandoned and open to looting. This first flood damage was eventually repaired and the First Temple was reoccupied (phase 2) ...
New Findings from Menkaure Valley Temple|AERAaeraweb.org
Reisner found evidence that a desert flash flood streamed down the northern side of the causeway washing out the center of the First Temple west wall and ...
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