Evening journal., 1912-11-07
new DAM Will
RUIN TEMPLES
OF PHILAE

LONDON, Nov. THE final work
on the great dam at Assuan in upper
Egypt is now completed, and soon
the water is to be raised to its full
height in the reservoir south of the
FIRST cataract OF the Nile This viii
mean eventually the complete ruin OF
the famous Temples of Phlae. as is
pointed out I'm an interesting article
10 the Tunes
For 10 years the temples have been
partly submerged by the Use Of the
dam as originally planned, but hith
erto the iloo- Cf the Hall Of Columns
in the Temple of Isis has been the
highest point reached by the water.
When the level of the water is low
cled IN April Nay and June it is pos
sible to SEE the effect on tho buildings
snd to judge from that what viii 1e
the result when the reservoir -ovel is
raised an additional is feet.
Like other Egyptian temples, those
OF philae nava been lived in by vii
layers for centuries after the decline
o. the old religion. The result was the
accumulation OF organic refuse I'm
great quantities which in time has
disintegrated and left considerable
Quantities of salts
salts Corrode Stones.
When the reservoir level was first
| raised ia December. 1902, the water
dissolved these salts, and the porous
sandstone of which the temples are
composed drew up the solution by
capillary attraction On the empty
/ ing of tho reservoir at the beginning
OF the summer the salt solution re-
tanned i'm the walls crystallized, with
the result that the particles Of sand
forming the stone We're displaced by
the salt crystals Nnd certain
amount Of cracking and scaling took
place at the high water level and in
the soakage line a foot or so above
that level
This process has REQUIRED after
each winters flooding, and the effect
is now, after nine years, quite notice
Fable The sculpture upon the stone
SO affected have considerably detcri-
grated, and in certain parts are now
almost indistinguishahle
Water weeds also grew in great
profusion. and in the low water
months these dry into a whitish skin
which gradually falls off. bringing
with It some Of the surface Of the
sculptured stone
When the water is raised to its full
height the corrosion of the stone will
begin in the painted capitals and room
blocks of the famous Hall Of Col
umns Observation Of the traces Of
paint on the lower registers OF the
tcmple walls shows that upon the
soaking of the stone the thin layer
OF plaster which holds the paint rap
idly becomes detached and falls So
this must be the fate of these lovely
capitals. 10 has been stated that the
water will come only up to the verti-
cal Fittings below the capitals of the
columns. but even If this he 80 the
effect will be the same. for the water
will be drawn ND into the stone 10
face level and the peeling of the
plaster and paint will follow.
Roof Blocks Must Break.
The stone of which the roof is made
is of the same porous nature and is
too porous TO carry much more than
its weight When these long blocEs
extending from column to column, be-
come saturated with water it appears
inevitable that they must Break.
b In other parts of the temples where
] such a danger has declared itself steel
/ beams have been placed longitudi-
nally below the stones and afford suf-
/, hcient support. But in the Hall Of
. Columns the under sides of hase ROOT
: blocks are painted and form an eosen-
tial part of the decoration The ap.
pearance of steel beams supportins
these painted stones will be rdinous
to the appearance of the roof