Archaeologists fear Nagaa Hamadi Barrages’ negative impact
Jan 12th, 2007 by Lee (admin)
According to the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Dr Zahi Hawas, the continuous rising level of the Nile and underground water as a result of irrigation projects could damage archaeological monuments.
Thus, studies have been undertaken to determine the effect of the water.
Referring to the double Nagaa Hamadi Barrages which are under construction, the Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, Sabri Abdul Aziz, refuted that the barrages would have an adverse effect on nearby archaeological sites, the nearest being Dendera temple.
Abdul Aziz said that huge projects are underway to lower underground water, such as those at Karnak and Luxor temples, Kom Al Shoqafa in Alexandria, the pyramids of Fayyoum and Esna temple.
Disagreeing with Abdul Aziz, Abdul Hamid Qotb of Engineering Affairs said that the construction of Nagaa Hamadi Barrages is bound to raise underground water level.
This will inevitably have a harmful effect on monuments including Abidous, Ramesses II and Senwosret III temples, and Shunat Al Zabib in Suhag.
To solve this problem, there has to be a wall separating the two barrages; a difficult and costly project, he explained.
 Qotb said that there is also a possibility that Naqada, which is about 31km south of Qena, would be affected.
Naqada is one of the richest sites in southern Egypt, containing seven monasteries dating back to the 4th century AD.
Rising underground water usually leads to the disintegration of foundations and the appearance of salts on walls, badly affecting inscriptions.
Despite executive steps taken by the Environment Protection Administration to carry out projects to lower underground water level in 22 sites believed to be affected by the Nagaa Hamadi barrages, Nasr Oweida of the Central Administration of Islamic Antiquities, calls upon the SCA to conduct updated studies on the potential impact of the barrages.
However, a ministry of information source said that the Nagaa Hamadi barrages feasibility studies, which lasted ten years, did not indicate any potential harm to nearby sites.
Yet the controversy continues, and not until the project is completed will the truth be revealed; we hope that by then it will not be too late to solve any problems.
Source : The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, April 8, 2005