Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur
Factors affecting the property in 1998*
- Ground transport infrastructure
- Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
- Other Threats:
Deterioration of the stones
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
- Growing number of visitors
- Uncontrolled development of the nearby village (issue resolved)
- Deterioration of the stones
- Road construction project (issue resolved)
- Encroachment upon the site and its buffer zone
International Assistance: requests for the property until 1998
Total amount approved : 81,450 USD
| 1995 | Experts missions to Pyramids Plateau (Approved) | 13,450 USD |
| 1993 | Financial contribution for the Pyramides Plateau of Giza (Approved) | 20,000 USD |
| 1991 | Three international experts (an economist, an ... (Approved) | 30,000 USD |
| 1991 | Mission to take part in the first stage of the ... (Approved) | 18,000 USD |
Missions to the property until 1998**
November 1988: expert mission; April 1995: UNESCO expert mission; October 1998: UNESCO mission
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 1998
In 1995, a mission from the World Heritage Centre visited Egypt to prevent the construction, within the boundaries of the protected zone, of a portion of the Greater Cairo “Ring-Road”. A joint declaration was then issued and the project cancelled. A proposal for the diversion of the Ring Road was then suggested. On 6 September 1998, the Secretariat received a letter from the President of the Supreme Council of Antiquities requesting UNESCO to send a mission of specialists to study details of the diversion plan and provide them with technical advice.
On 3 October, a mission from UNESCO proceeded to Cairo and worked on this issue with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the concerned ministries. A joint communique, signed by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction and UNESCO urged for a full implementation of the Convention and reconfirmed the alternative route selected during the previous UNESCO mission in 1995 (diversion through the Maryoutiyah and Mansouriyah canals). At the request of the authorities, the Centre will start co-operation for the improvement of the management of the site.
After having taken note of the report of the Secretariat, the Bureau requested the Secretariat to continue co-operating with the Egyptian authorities on this issue as well as on the overall management of the site and to report on the progress of the work to the Bureau at its twenty-third session.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 1998
22 COM VII.43
Reports on the State of Conservation of Cultural Properties Noted by the Committee
VII.43 The Committee noted the decisions of the twenty-second extraordinary session of the Bureau as reflected in the Report of the Bureau session (Working Document WHC-98/CONF.203/5) and included in Annex IV of this report on the following properties:
Rapa Nui National Park (Chile)
The Mountain Resort and Its Outlying Temples in Chengde (China)
The Potala Palace, Lhasa (China)
Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu (China)
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains (China)
City of Quito (Ecuador)
Memphis and its Necropolis - the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur (Egypt)
Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis (Egypt)
Islamic Cairo (Egypt)
Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn (Estonia)
Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town in Quedlinburg (Germany)
Historic Centre of Florence (Italy)
Quseir Amra (Jordan)
Luang Prabang (Laos)
Baalbek (Lebanon)
Tyre (Lebanon)
Vilnius Historic Centre (Lithuania)
Old Towns of Djenné (Mali)
City of Cusco (Peru)
Archaeological site of Chavin (Peru)
Historic Centre of Lima (Peru)
The Baroque Churches of the Philippines (The Philippines)
Historic Centre of Porto (Portugal)
Island of Gorée (Senegal)
Sacred City of Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)
Ancient City of Polonnaruva (Sri Lanka)
Ancient City of Sigiriya (Sri Lanka)
Site of Palmyra (Syrian Arab Republic)
Historic Areas of Istanbul (Turkey)
Kiev: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings (Ukraine)
Complex of Hué Monuments (Vietnam)
Old City of Sana'a (Yemen)
No draft Decision
Egypt
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
