Weathering damage on Pharaonic sandstone monuments in Luxor-Egypt

The Pharaonic stone monuments in Upper Egypt represent cultural heritage of outstanding universal value. All monuments have suffered weathering damage. In the year 2000 an Egyptian-German research co-operation was started aiming at the systematic investigation of stone weathering on the historical monuments in Upper Egypt as a contribution to monument preservation. Pilot studies were carried out on the Karnak Temple and on the Luxor Temple, composed of sandstones originating from the Gebel el-Silsila region. First results on the petrographical properties of these sandstones and their state of weathering damage on, the Pharaonic temples in Luxor are presented. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.