Air Bags and Stainless Steel Anchors and Mesh Help Preserve Egyptian Pyramid

摘要

AN EFFORT TO PRESERVE and protect the oldest pyramid in Egypt involves the use of air bags and stainless steel anchors and mesh to secure the ancient structure's burial chamber and prevent any additional seismically induced collapse. Located in the Saqqara (Sakkara) burial complex-the necropolis of the ancient city of Memphis-roughly 30 km south of Cairo, the 4,700-yearold Step Pyramid of Djoser is considered by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities to be the earliest example of large-scale stone construction in that country. Its name derives from its terraced profile, and it has been damaged by earthquakes throughout its history, most recently in 1992.