Sedimentology
of bees ( ) sandy
nests on Egyptian monuments..
A topic In Environmental Geoegyptology
Soliman M. Soliman
Dept. Geology, Fac. Sciences, Ain Shams Univ., Cairo, Egypt |
CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS
Nature (Hieroglyphic NETER) has its integrated identity, so are its processes whose final
products are the result of nature's multidisciplinary factors.
This statement regulates.the present sedimentologic topic. It is handled here for the
first time in
Egypt, and as consulted, in the world as well. It started with my visits to some Egyptian
pyramids where I noticed the presence of constructed hard organogenetic sandstone nests,
covering some of their blocks.
At the beginning, I thought they were "wasp" nests common in Egyptian villages.
A few adults collected by me from these nests were identified by Prof. Dr. Salwa K.
Mohamed, Dept. Entomology, Ain. Shams Univ., Egypt, to be of the Order Hymenoptera, 2
species of Family Megachilidae (Bee: Osmia sp., Megachila sp.) and one of Family
Chrysididae (Wasp: Chrysis episcopalis). The abundance of bees (Hieroglyphic  ) over the rare
wasps (Hierogtyphic, Kheb) and the common similarities of the studied nests infer their
intimate relationship to bees. The wasps in them might be due to their general unpIeasant
parasitism and attacks (Nixon, World of bees; Evans, The sand wasps).
The presence of some living larvae indicates the recent usage of the nests but not
necessarily their age. These nests could have been relatively old and reused by bee
generations, with additions. They obviously were constructed after cleansing, case
collapse and damage of the lodging parts in the monuments. Photos published by Breasted
(1903), Edwards (1947), A. Fakhry (1961), Mendelssohn (1974) and others show indications
of existing nests on Meidum Pyramid but without any identification or description.
Mendelssohn (The riddle of.the Pyramids, 1974) identified unfortunately these nests on the
Pyramid to be ancient "mortar" used to support the blocks from falling and
collapsing. On such basis, he tried to manipulate a fanciful unforgivable theory about the
Pyramid setting...
Without indulging in interesting entomologic aspects as insect ethnology, taxonomy,
behavior, ... (though inevitably touched)...l deal here with the nature of nests, their
sedimentography and sedimentogenesis, and their constructive and destructive impacts on
Egyptian monuments on which they were built for a span of 10 years (visits in different
times and seasons), I've tried in vain to record the growth of these nests by sticking
pins, by color markings, watching tediously the nests... . This might be due to the many
nest occurrences studied, the flying nature of these organisms that could not be
individually followed, and the distances between the site of building material and the
nests that range 4-60 m long. However, these visits were not utterly useless, concrete
aspects have been comprehended.
Other than this intensive field work, the 64 samples collected from the nests were
examined petrographically in hand specimens and thin sections, by X-ray (XRD), by electron
microscopy, insoluble residue analysis, major chemical analysis, grain size analysis,
organic matter content, porosity, ... Thanks are due to my Egyptian and foreign colleagues
who helped me in these analyses. Check and recheck treatments in different laboratories
were made. The range of the flumerous pertinent results, and mean averages are here
presented for the different occurrences.
Therefrom, it is intended to present a first studied example of a recent "bee"
constructed sandstone nest to be a clue to similar forms fossilized without being
correctly identified particularly in the Egyptian Pliocene-Pleistocene rocks, and
elsewhere in the World. In this connection, a fossil wasp nest was recorded in the Upper
Cretaceous of Utah.
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