30 Years of Cultural Heritage Landslides and Block Movements Risk Assessment: Case Studies from Egypt

Abstract

Throughout history, sites of high societal values, such as temples, tombs or palaces were mainly constructed through the digging/carving of rocks, built on hills or plateaus, or through the usage of carved/cut displaced rocks. Ancient designers/engineers/workers usually chose construction sites as to facilitate the building or the carving of stones, while, at the same time, serving the purpose of the building/constructions. In Egypt, throughout the ancient Egyptian Civilization, Egyptians have chosen to carve their temples and tombs in the soft limestone, shales and sandstones that are covering most of the modern Egypt, whereas in few temples and tombs, hard igneous and metamorphic rocks were used as ornament material for tombs and statutes. In this paper, we will present an account of the development of landslide risk assessment for various cultural heritage sites around Egypt, for different eras of Egyptian history and different sites. This paper aims at discussing different case studies and success stories of landslides and block movements hazards assessment around or inside Egyptian Cultural Heritage sites.