Geoenvironmental investigation of Sahure's pyramid, Abusir archeological site, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

Abusir is the name of an elaborate burial area in Egypt, dotted with 19 pyramids and other temples, stretching on the western side of the Nile from the south of the Giza Plateau to the northern rim of Saqqara. It seems to have been created as the resting site for the Pharaohs dated from 2494 to 2345 BC. The name Abusir, originally spoken as Busiri, means "Temple of Osiris". Over time, the name has become so popular because more than 60 villages now carry this name, but only one is the archaeological site. This paper focused on one of its most important pyramids from the Abusir archaeological area, Sahure's pyramid, since it is one of Egypt's little-known but heavily damaged treasures. Field and laboratory studies have been carried out to investigate and understand the durability problems and construction materials of this pyramid, leading to results that confirmed the impact of the geoenvironmental conditions on the pyramid's architectural, structural, and engineering stability. Moreover, the results showed that mineralogical content in the construction materials was an intrinsic problem due to the presence of swellable (expansive) clays, which are considered responsible for pyramid decay and damage. In addition to external factors such as the effect of temperature variations, rain, pollutants, wind, and earthquakes and their interactions with intrinsic building material defects. Finally, this paper revealed a new discovery for basaltic mortar as the first trial for green concrete manufacturing in the Egyptian Old Kingdom, Fifth Dynasty.