Wednesday, October 7, 2009


Egyptian Tombs May Be Doomed to Destruction

Everyone has heard of the elaborate tombs in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Some of the most famous pharohs in history have been buried there, including the boy king Tutenkhamun, Ramses II, and Queen Nefertiti. According to Dr. Zahi Hawass, if the tombs in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings stay open to the public any longer, they may disappear within 150 to 500 years. Ultimately, the combined breath of many tomb visitors makes humidity levels skyrocket and fosters the growth and spread of fungi in the ornate tombs. The fungi eat away at the carvings and decorations inside because of the poor ventilation. Drastic measures are being taken by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities to protect the great tombs, such as limits on the number of visitors, closing and making replicas of tombs, and installation of better ventilation systems.
Nick H.
Period 5

9 comments:

speiffer said...

That's really sad and unfortuneate. Who knew that a tourist's breath could cause such destruction. I hope they are able to devise a plan to stop this.

speiffer said...

That's really sad and unfortuneate. Who knew that a tourist's breath could cause such destruction. I hope they are able to devise a plan to stop this.

Unknown said...

Ive heard about that happening before, but i am surprised that i would only take around 300 years for them to disappear. Hopefully they can prevent the tombs from degrading and save them for future generations.

Unknown said...

Ive heard about that happening before, but I am surprised that it would only take around 300 years for them to disappear. Hopefully they can prevent the tombs from degrading and save them for future generations.

Ryan M. said...

That's horrible that the tombs are being destroyed! I think that banning people going in and making replicas of the tombs is a good idea, as it is important to preserve Egyptian history.

Ravi Sharma said...

Wow, it seems almost scary that in just a few centuries, these artifacts from such an important time period in human history will no longer exist. Imagine what else may disappear within the next century or two due to excessive human contact! This really goes to show that we must focus our energy on preserving them, so that many future generations may be able to study history the way we were able to, with true first-person sources from the time period, rather than solely through history books. Unfortunately, even with as much as people are currently doing to stop the damage done to the tombs, it may be too late to save them.

KoriB said...

Wow, that's pretty hard to imagine, the tombs in the Valley of the Kings crumbling like that. Everyone believes that historic monuments and relics like this will last forever and this just goes to show that they really don't, especially with so much tourism going on. Really interesting article.

Sarena S. said...

I think that is sad to hear because it is an important part of history slowy being destroyed, ironically by us. Hopefully with the steps they are taking it will help.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that would be terrible if those historical tombs would disappear. And even though it wouldn't happen until many years that would mean that there wouldn't be real historical evidence in that time. I think they should close it and soon at that.

Tabatha S. Period 3