CONTROLLING ROCK STABILITY AND FRACTURE FLOW WITHIN TOMBS: A GEO-ARCHAEOLOGICAL CHALLENGE WITHIN THE VALLEY OF KINGS, EGYPT

In 2006 and 2009 Katarin A. Parizek and R.R. Parizek confirmed that 30 out of 33 tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt were located along fracture structures, 2 were diagonally on structure and only one was off of structure confirming K. A. Parizek’s original hypothesis that the tombs were created along fracture trace related structures in the Valley of the Kings by design. Further mapping by the authors within the Valley interlinked fractures within these tombs creating underground pathways for water flow. Tombs are excavated in Thebes Limestone that is underlain by Esna Shale. When Montmorillionite in Esna Shale gets wet it swells and when the Thebes Limestone gets wet it becomes soft and breaks under the pressure of swelling shale below. Ceilings and walls of these tombs are being patched by Egyptian conservators, however the roof apertures extending to the desert surface remain open allowing water to seep into and among tombs damaging and destroying tomb interior paintings and plaster as well adjacent underlying tombs. To make matters worse, the extreme heating and cooling in the desert add to the seasonal expansion and contraction of the rock above. The authors are now presented with the problem of selecting sealants to eliminate seepage pathways in the walls and roofs that would withstand extreme seasonal temperature changes, adequately penetrate fracture apertures, and not ruin remaining tomb paintings below. We will examine the geological/archaeological conservation problems associated with preserving Tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt against seeping stormwater.