CAIRO: The foundations of the ancient Sphinx in the Giza district of Cairo could be in jeopardy due to a rise in the level of the area's water table, or the level of underground water where the monument stands. Findings by a number of experts in recent years indicate that the rising water is eroding and thus weakening the foundations and columns of the Sphinx, as well as a number of other monuments around the country, including temples in Karnak and Luxor. Lisa Sabbahy, professor of archaeology at the American University in Cairo (AUC), says that the groundwater level initially rose due to the completion of the Aswan dam, which controls the flow and level of the Nile's water in order to provide year-round irrigation of crops. This, she points out, threatens all antiquities in the Nile valley. Before the dam, the Nile would flood its banks annually soaking the structures, but would dry out before long. "But now the river runs at a constant height, Sabbahy told Daily News Egypt, "and the rock layers of the banks and adjoining land, particularly the shale and clay which soak up water, are wet all year around. Ayman Ahmed of the University of Sohag is currently examining the damage that rising water levels pose to Egypt's antiquities with Graham Fogg, a professor of hydrology at the University of California. Ahmed agrees that the Aswan dam has done considerable damage to the structures, but also blames farming, urbanization and residential housing near the temples for causing water tables to rise. Probably the most dangerous factors affecting the Pharaonic monuments are urbanization and agricultural development, Ahmed said. Ahmed and Fogg's project uses data from sites including the temples at Luxor and Karnak to build a computer model of how groundwater moves under the monuments. This they hope will enable them to find ways to prevent or at least reduce the damage.
