Fracture zones endanger tombs in Valley of Kings

Fracture zones endanger tombs in Valley of Kings
October 19th, 2009

Ancient choices made by Egyptians digging burial tombs may have led to today's problems with damage and curation of these precious archaeological treasures, but photography and detailed geological mapping should help curators protect the sites, according to a Penn State researcher.


"Previously, I noticed that some tomb entrances in the Valley of Kings, Luxor, Egypt, were aligned on fracture traces and their zones of fracture concentration," said Katarin A. Parizek, instructor in digital photography, department of integrative arts. "From my observations, it seems that tomb builders may have intentionally exploited these avenues of less resistant limestone when creating tombs."

www.physorg.com...

This is a photograph of a damaged ceiling in tomb KV6 in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt. The top portion of the image shows areas damaged by water and repaired cracks.