The Climate and Its Impacts on Egyptian Civilized Heritage: Ei-Nadura Temple in El- Kharga Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt As a Case Study

Abstract

Abstract Undoubtedly, El-Kharga Oasis monumental sites are considered an important part of our world´s cultural heritage in the South Western Desert of Egypt. These sites are scattered on the floor of the oasis representing ancient civilizations. The Roman stone monuments in Kharga represent cultural heritage of an outstanding universal value. Such those monuments have suffered weathering deterioration. There are various elements which affect the weathering process of stone monuments: climate conditions, shapes of cultural heritages, exposed time periods, terrains, and vegetation around them, etc. Among these, climate conditions are the most significant factor affecting the deterioration Archeological sites in Egypt. El- Kharga Oasis belongs administratively to the New Valley Governorate. It is located in the southern part of the western desert of Egypt, lies between latitudes 22º30'14" and 26º00'00" N, and between 30º27'00" and 30º47'00" E. The area of El Kharga Oasis covers about 7500 square kilometers. Pilot studies were carried out on the EI-Nadura Temple, composed of sandstones originating from the great sand sea. The major objective of this study is to monitor and measure the weathering features and the weathering rate affecting the building stones forming El- Nadora Roman building rocks in cubic cm. To achieve that aims the present study used analysis of climatic data such as annual and seasonal solar radiation, Monthly average number of hours of sunshine, maximum and minimum air temperatures, wind speed, which have obtained from actual field measurements and data Meteorological Authority of El-Kharga station for the period 1941 to 2000 (60 years), and from the period 1941-2050 (110 years) as a long term of temperature data. Several samples were collected and examined by polarizing microscopy (PLM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analysis system (SEM-EDX). The results were in agreement with the observed values in the study area. The deterioration of El-Nadora temple is above 45 % of original temple (138-161 BC), these deteriorations have occurred not only due to the age of the structures, but also due to the climate elements. It was found that the climate is the most important elements influencing weathering. El-Nadora temple is highly influenced by wind action because it has built on a hill top 180 meter in hyper arid climate and exposed to wind without any obstruction. Finally, El-Nadora Temple has lost about 42.46 % of its original size, and if the rate of deterioration on those rates will disappear the major landmarks, symbols and inscriptions fully in 2150.