20 - 26 September 2001
Issue No.552
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 20 - 26 September 2001 Issue No.552 |
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Respite for Menkaure
By Nevine El-Aref
The "third" pyramid is in the limelight again. The pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the trio at Giza is being given a well-deserved rest from tourists, writes Nevine El-Aref. The pyramid has been closed for a year as part of the Giza plateau's general management plan to preserve its monuments and carry out restoration of the pyramids in rotation. The plan allows for one pyramid at a time to be closed while the other two remain open to visitors.
"This is the third time since the site management plan for Giza was set up in 1987 that Menkaure's pyramid has been closed for restoration," Giza plateau and Bahariya oasis director-general Zahi Hawwas said.
Hawass attributed the pyramid's recent rapid deterioration to the breath of visitors, which causes both humidity and salt encrustation. "More than 30,000 people enter the pyramid monthly, and each exhales about 20 grams of water vapour. The rate of humidity in the pyramid as now is 77 per cent," he said.
The project plan includes the restoration of cracks on the inner walls from the main doorway to the burial chamber. The walls of the passageways, the pyramid's six rooms and the king's chamber will be cleaned of salt residue and of the graffiti made by thoughtless visitors. A new wooden stairway will replace the existing damaged stairs at the main doorway to the burial chamber, while the doorway itself will be reinforced. Blocks of stone placed around the granite sarcophagus during previous conservation work will be removed and replaced with more suitable stone, of similar quality to the pyramid's original floor.
"Restoration inside the pyramid has already begun," Abdel-Hamid Kotb, the engineer in charge of the restoration, said. "More than 20 conservationists and three inspectors are at work full time." Kotb said the work had started with the removal of graffiti from the walls of the burial chamber and the corridors. Improved lighting will be placed along the corridors and passages; and state-of-the art ventilation equipment will operate automatically. "Appropriate lighting will provide a dramatic atmosphere in the king's burial chamber," Kotb said. Eventually, fixed cameras connected to closed-circuit TV will be installed to prevent vandalism of the monument by visitors. Fines will also be imposed, Kotb said. From now on, anyone desecrating the monument in any way will face a LE300 fine.
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