In Pictures: Kom El Shoqafa Antiquities in Alexandria After Groundwater Drainage, and El-Enany Descends 12 Meters Deep

By Akram Medhat

Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled El-Enany traveled to Alexandria this morning to inspect the project to lower the groundwater level at the Kom El Shoqafa archaeological site, accompanied by the US chargé d'affaires in Cairo, following the project's completion in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Organization for Potable Water and Sanitary Drainage.

In this context, Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled El-Enany praised the completion of the project to lower the groundwater level at the Kom El Shoqafa archaeological site, carried out in cooperation with the United States as part of the ministry's policy of preserving Egypt's archaeological heritage.

He explained that the rising groundwater level had threatened the area for about 100 years, and there had been several attempts to lower the groundwater level and drain the area, most notably in 1995, when the then Supreme Council of Antiquities installed pumps to suck out and draw off the water. However, continued seepage from the Mahmoudiya Canal, urban expansion and farmland adjacent to the area caused the level to rise again.

He continued that the ministry dug six wells 42 meters deep to draw off the water temporarily, until the ministry, in cooperation with the relevant authorities, implemented the groundwater lowering project with a 2017 grant of $5.7 million from the United States Agency for International Development to complete this project, noting that the project to lower the groundwater level at the Kom Ombo Temple area in Aswan is scheduled to be completed by the end of this March at a cost of $9 million.

He also referred to the reconstruction and restoration of the two Wardian tombs, which had been displayed in the garden of the Graeco-Roman Museum since 1952.

He was accompanied on the tour by Alexandria Governor Dr. Abdel Aziz Konsowa; US Chargé d'Affaires in Cairo Thomas Goldberger; Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities; Brig. Gen. Hesham Samir, Assistant Minister of Antiquities for Engineering Affairs; Eng. Waad Abul-Ela, head of the Projects Sector; Elham Salah, head of the Museums Sector; and MP Sahar Talaat Moustafa, a member of parliament.

For his part, Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the project began in November 2017 to drain and protect the archaeological site and the tombs from the risk of erosion and damage caused by groundwater seepage, by establishing a system to lower the groundwater level to below the third level, that is, to a depth of more than 12 meters. He noted that the display pieces in the museum garden, which include many sarcophagi, altars and sphinx statues, have been rearranged.

To protect the tombs, Eng. Waad Abul-Ela, head of the Projects Sector, stressed that six wells 40 meters deep were dug and submersible pumps were installed with an electronic control system run from a new control building constructed on site, in addition to lines for discharging and draining water, and the site was equipped with new canopies to protect the tombs and the stairs leading to them from winter rain.

The Kom El Shoqafa tombs are among the most important examples of Roman funerary architecture of the catacomb style, carved three levels deep underground. The necropolis was used in the second half of the first century AD and remained in use until the fourth century AD, and many corridors and burial niches were added to it.