How is egypt preserving the step pyramid of djoser?

Question

got an assignment - any real answers would help :)

Answer 1

structurally speaking: its stepped construction grantee its preservation from being decayed under the effect of compression and tension loads.

there are loads of sand on the steps themselves and they are not removed, if you look at any photo of the pyramid you will notice that the steps has an upward inclined load of sand. and i think that's right not to remove these sand loads, because such process of removal could decay the brick joints of the pyramid itself.

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Lovely Daimond said it right.

Answer 2

Several solutions have been proposed to save this unique monument. Now, following three years of archaeological and scientific studies, a comprehensive restoration project to save and preserve this great pyramid from further destruction has been outlined.

THE IMMEDIATE AIMS: The restoration project is the first complete plan to rescue the Step Pyramid of Djoser and the southern tomb. Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), described it as a pioneer project comparable to the salvage operation of the Abu Simbel temples. Hawass added that the project would be carried out by Egyptian engineers and archaeologists in three phases with a budget of LE25 million. Plans include consolidating the underground tunnels, monitoring the cracks, restoring the wall decorations and inspecting the natural ventilation inside the pyramid and the southern tomb.

The first phase, which started early this month, requires the cleansing of the pyramid from inside and outside as well as removing all accumulated dust and sand of the past decades in an attempt to reduce the load on the pyramid's structure.

Fallen blocks scattered on the ground and around the pyramid will be collected, restored and returned to their original location. Blocks which are damaged beyond repair will be replaced with replicas after being subjected to accurate scientific analysis in order that they do not dismantle the pyramid's structure. Empty spaces between blocks will be refilled with small fallen blocks.

The second phase will begin immediately after the completion of the first, and will include the consolidation of all tunnels, corridors and ceilings of the pyramid's underground galleries as well as the main burial shaft located on top of the pyramid's bed rock.

The head of the Central Projects Administration Department at the SCA, Abdel-Hamid Qutub, said that to guarantee perfect consolidation the executive company was using a high-tech engineering system suitably adapted to the authentic features of the pyramid in order to protect it from further deterioration. The system would also supplement loads during the restoration without affecting the original bed rock. The system is also designed to be easily dismantled after the completion of the restoration. Cracks will be restored and a controlling system will be installed in order to monitor minute by minute the movement of cracks and give an alarm if any further cracks appeared on the walls or ceilings.

The last phase will entail removing salt that has accumulated on the pyramid's internal decorations and fixing fallen faience ceramic shreds back in their original place.

Ayman Mahmoud, the engineer in charge of the project, said that studies conducted over the past three years had focussed on photographic and architecture documentation of the pyramid's outer surface and subsurface elements. Geological surveys and laboratory tests of the ground materials were implemented, and analysis of structure ability at critical cavities has been also executed. Previous studies carried out on the pyramid's structure have also been taken into consideration.

Restorers and engineers have been on site since early April. They chose to start on the pyramid's southern façade, removing dust and sand which had accumulated inside the main burial shaft of the southern tomb and on the pyramid's first mastaba. They also dismantled the northern wall in the corridor leading to the southern tomb, and filled empty spaces between the pyramid's blocks with masonry similar to that used in the construction of this great pyramid.