Geological and topographical study of the original hills at the base of Fourth Dynasty Egyptian monuments of the Memphite plateau

Raynaud, Suzanne; Boisse, Henri De La; Makroum, Farid Mahmoud; Bertho, Joël

doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.181.3.279

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Here we show how the base of the Pyramid was reinforced by the incorporation of the outcrop, and that the concavity strengthens the struc-ture of the whole pyramid including the base. The Great Pyramid was built on a natural carved outcrop whose volume is estimated to be about 20 percent of the monument (Raynaud et al, 2008). Let us present our idea that how they incorporated this outcrop into the monument for its stability.…”

Section: Tightening the Pyramid By Reinforced Base And Concavitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Concavity of the Great Pyramid Can Be Derived from Inward Sloping Courses Needed for the Stability

Kato¹

2023

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The Great Pyramid has the character of concavity that each of its four faces is slightly indented along its central line. Applying the geometry on an inclined plane, we show that this concavity could be derived from its inner structure of inward sloping courses gently inclined towards the center of each course, at about 11 degrees to the horizontal, i.e., the slope 1/5 by the ratio of "rise over run". We explain why the inclined layers together with the reinforced base were necessary for the long-term stability of the Pyramid against the severe natural forces like the high gravitational compression, earthquakes and rainstorms, pointing out the feasible fact that the Pyramid has experienced severe rainstorms more than 500 times during the 4500 years. The crucial point about stability is that the effects of such natural forces are quite different between the core of inclined courses and that of truly level courses in the sense that the former can be tightened to become stronger over time, but the latter would be disintegrated to be weaker over time. Scaled-down models of the Pyramid are introduced to understand the large-scale dynamics of the Pyramid. In particular, the small model reduced by 10 −3 helps us to imagine the transformation of vertical into lateral forces, pointed out by Mendelssohn. On the other hand, the Step Pyramid of Djoser can be identified almost as the half-sized model of the Great Pyramid when the Great Pyramid was assumed to be composed only of truly level courses. And this identification tells the fate of the Great Pyramid only of truly level courses that it would have almost collapsed until now like the Step Pyramid before the recent restoration.

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Section: Tightening the Pyramid By Reinforced Base And Concavitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Concavity of the Great Pyramid Can Be Derived from Inward Sloping Courses Needed for the Stability

Kato¹

2023

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“…It is situated on a calcareous plateau and occupies an area of 90 km 2 , 8 km northwest of the Giza Pyramids. The area consists in sedimentary rocks, basalt flows, and loose sediments (multiple kinds of limestone, sandstone, basalt, and clay) [36,37]. Abu-Rawash is a famous site due to the presence of the pyramid of King Djedefre, the third king of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom (2566-2558 BC), which is the son and successor of the Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) [38,39].…”

Section: The Archaeological Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodeterioration Assessment of a Unique Old Pharaonic Kingdom Wooden Statue Using Advanced Diagnostic Techniques

et al. 2022

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A recently discovered Egyptian wooden statue of King Djedefre was studied together with some surrounding burial soil samples for assessing the statue biodeterioration. The wooden morphological characterisation identified the hardwood Acacia nilotica as the wood type. X-ray diffraction, micro-FT-IR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with an X-ray spectrometer were used to evaluate the wood deterioration degree and the soil contribution in wood biodeterioration. Microbiological analyses (fluorescent in situ hybridisation and polymerase chain reaction) were also performed to detect the microbial attack on the statue. The prolonged interaction of the statue with the burial environment caused a strong wood decay due to biotic (fungi and bacteria) and abiotic factors (e.g., humidity fluctuations of the burial environment), which caused the severe cracking and collapsing of the wood structures. The analyses of the burial soil mineral composition were relevant for obtaining an overall picture of the statue deterioration. The results are useful for planning the right conservation procedures for this very particular and important wooden statue. Furthermore, analysis of the woody cell wall will help in the selection of appropriate consolidation and recovery treatments. Because the statue is a unique single piece of wood, and the morphological observations indicated that it is a bald woman in a sitting position, this statue will provide new and interesting knowledge of Egyptian culture.

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“…3); in this case, the role of the geoheritage worker is to translate scientific observation to the popular interpretation of such "geomorphs." An example where geologic impact is deemed essential to understanding archaeological sites would include the Sphinx, now speculated to be built upon a geologic formation that inspired its construction (Raynaud et al, 2008), as well as the presence of the geomorphs of bulls' horns that possibly influenced the location of the Knossos site of Crete (Schama, 1995).…”

Section: Components Of Geoheritagementioning

confidence: 99%

Is geoheritage a “cutting-edge” science? Promotion of an extension to the definition of geoheritage with emphasis as a significant discipline in geosciences with cultural and societal relevance

Rassios

Grieco

2021

Plate Tectonics, Ophiolites, and Societal Significance of Geology: A Celebration of the Career of Eldridge Moores

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Geoheritage documentation is critical for the academic community, and thus incurs an expense to the general public, who may or may not feel the need to fund such an “academic” database. Fortunately, this documentation helps foster appreciation of geosites within a geotouristic framework and can inspire a nationalistic sense of pride, thus bringing about an economic incentive to countries actively involved in geoheritage research and documentation. Yet there remains a prejudice within academia that geoheritage is a descriptive field, is arbitrarily qualitative, and lacks the capacity to create new and important scientific discoveries. We present herein a description and discussion of the results of applying “cutting-edge” science in a geoheritage framework with ample examples from Greece and two case studies of its application. The first of these is The Aliakmon Legacy Project of Northern Greece that necessitated modern documentation to preserve its heritage base when plate tectonic global geoheritage localities were flooded. The second summarizes the geologic history of the Meteora World Heritage Site with an emphasis on how its long complex geologic history ultimately resulted in the Byzantine Monastic community. We propose this paper as a discussion model for the integration of primary geologic research with cultural heritage localities and emphasize that these promise to elevate geoheritage studies to a scale critical for documentation of human civilization itself. It is our opinion that geoheritage is capable of becoming a dynamic field of study in which documentation and preservation expands to integrate renewed multidisciplinary research that in turn comprises the scientific foundation of a “new” cutting-edge geologic field of study.

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Geological and topographical study of the original hills at the base of Fourth Dynasty Egyptian monuments of the Memphite plateau

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

The Concavity of the Great Pyramid Can Be Derived from Inward Sloping Courses Needed for the Stability

The Concavity of the Great Pyramid Can Be Derived from Inward Sloping Courses Needed for the Stability

Biodeterioration Assessment of a Unique Old Pharaonic Kingdom Wooden Statue Using Advanced Diagnostic Techniques

Is geoheritage a “cutting-edge” science? Promotion of an extension to the definition of geoheritage with emphasis as a significant discipline in geosciences with cultural and societal relevance

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