Hydrological and archaeological studies to detect the deterioration of Edfu temple in Upper Egypt due to environmental changes during the last five decades

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Archaeological sites in Upper Egypt, especially Edfu Temple, are considered a wealth of human civilization and are irreplaceable. Deterioration of archaeological sites due to environmental changes in Edfu city include disintegration and exfoliation of stones, dissolution of building materials, loss of moral paintings, crystallization of salts in walls and columns, stone bleeding, destruction of wall paintings and texts, decreasing of durability of monumental stones, and discolouring. Recently, the archaeological field has received a lot of interest from Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) users to observe the impact of environmental changes on archaeological sites during long periods. CORONA, LANDSAT, and SENTINEL-2A satellite images are our tools in detecting the changes around the study area and creating innovative solutions. Results from the analysis conducted suggest that most of the environmental changes in the study area are caused by uncontrolled urban sprawling and rising groundwater levels due to agricultural and urban expansion. The proximity of agricultural lands to archaeological areas has also affected the rise in groundwater levels. This has also played an important role in the transfer of chemical contaminants with the leaking water of soil to these archaeological sites, resulting in the growth of salt crystals. In this research, the environmental hazards and their effects are being observed for the archaeological sites of Edfu city (Upper Egypt). A comprehensive analysis has been conducted for the Horus Temple considering its building material, soil characteristics and environmental setting. Finally, we have created some models to protect the archaeological sites from environmental changes by the integration of remote sensing and GIS techniques.