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Wind-erosion on sedimentary rock monuments...
Fifth approach to environmental Geoegyptology
Soliman M. Soliman

Dept. Geology, Fac. Sciences, Ain Shams Univ., Cairo, Egypt

CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS

Behind this work is that nature (NETER in Hieroglyphics) is a multiagent multifactor system, of which wind is one partly responsible of shaping the Earth surface, and time is the common denominator to all processes.

PREAMBLE
We geologists therefore are so sensitive about time, a heritage from our forefathers the Ancient Egyptians who had more acute time sense...  For example..., with lunar, solar and cosmic observations and cycles, they also studied the helical rising of Sirius in the constellation of the Lion... On such hackgrounds, an Ancient Egyptian Sothic Calendar was established, as believed by many scientists in the year 4240 B.C. or even earlier... They divided the year (365.2422-365.2563 days) into12 equal months (+ 5/6 days) each with sacred Egyptian names (as T'hot - God of wisdom, science, knowledge... used since thousands of years in our Egyptian villages). The month was divided into 3 equal portions, and the day into 24 parts. The An. Egyptian new year starts with T'hot 1st (11/12 Sept.) occurring during the Nile flood celebrations...

This Ancient Egyptian Calendar (An. Eg. C.) has been the basis of virtually all known later calendars with changes and/or rnodifications of the beginning, names, divisions... We Egyptians have forgotten and the others seem to ignore or to be oblivious of the Egyptian source... According to the An. Eg. C., the year 1996 AD would be 6236 Eg.C. (4240+1996) and the approaching 21st Century AD will be in the 64th Century Eg. C...

Time wise, the Great Pyramid of Khufu (1702-1724 Eg.C. or 2538-2516 B.C.) according to Emery's calculations (1960 AD or 6200 Eg.C.) will survive thousands of years to come under the present weathering conditions. From talus as tiers and at Pyrarnid base, he estimated a rate (since ab. 1000 years) of 0.2mm/year erosion over the whole Pyrarnid surfaces, that is 0.01% of total volume.

Such erosive effect on Egyptian monuments has been the resultant of sedimentary factors. The surface agents and processes deal with the nature of wind, water, dew, organisms, temperature... while others deal With the monument architectonics, materials used, ... together with the time interval of exposure to these agents.