"Abu Rawash" Is Begging For Attention and Care

Cairo August 2010

"Abu Rawash" Is Begging For

Attention and Care

By Mohamed El Gazzar

While the flat featureless plain which forms the northern part of western desert contains few geological surface features, it is also hosting "Abu Rawash" anticline which made an exception to this scene.

Sixteen Kilometers west of Cairo city, this surface structure makes up outstanding feature at the greater Cairo Area, not only this, it also represents cretaceous rocks "140 million years of age", outcrops at the northern part of the western desert.

This unique feature is situated at the edge of the desert adjacent to the Nile valley cultivation area, 8 kilometers north west of Giza Pyramids and covering about 75 Square kilometers area with a length of 15 kilometers and a width of 5 kilometers and maximum elevation of 197 meters ASL.

"Abu Rawash" Structure attracted many workers and early pioneers include Lefebvre "1839", Schweinfurth "1889", Beadnell "1902" and Roshdy Saeed "1962".

Due To its unique location and geology, "Abu Rawash" area attracted the ancient Egyptians where they Built some monuments there, "Djedefre Pyramid" and a Temple.

Selecting "Abu Rawash" area is not only to its unique location at the northern part of the western desert but also due to the presence of 10 Thousand years of ancient Egyptian treasures and civilization in the area.

Adding to the fact that the area is fortunate enough to enjoy an open geological museum where it contains rocks and formations cover over 200 million years of the age of the earth, representing more than 15 different geologic times and covering most of the quaternary and tertiary periods.

Also by selecting "Abu Rawash" area, we are not neglecting the fantastic geological feature of its sister "Hassana Dome" (a well preserved dome surrounded by several concentric gullies and edges outcropping at the edge of "Wadi El-Qarn").

"Hassana Dome" will be discussed in details in a separate exclusive article.

Enclosures:

1- Map showing "Abu Rawash" area.

2- Map showing "Abu Rawash" in relation with "Ring Road".

3- Map showing location of "Djedfre Pyramid" at "Abu Rawash" area.

4- Photo of Ancient Egyptian monuments at "Abu Rawash" area.

5- The "Abu Rawash" Pyramid which rock thieves have stolen…

6- The Temple Residing east of the "Abu Rawash" Pyramid…

Annex I:

Cairo, September 2010

Abu Rawash

The Forgotten Treasure

Further to our article dated August 2010 under the name "Abu Rawash is begging for attention and care" we decided to visit the site aiming to watch

A .Gabal Abu Rawash

Where you can see rocks belong to seven geological ages starting from recent to over a hundred and fifty million years age, with approximate three hundred meter rocks and formations outcropped on the surface of the area. Also, you will see different types of rocks where the cape of the mountain composed of basalt, gravel underlain by a Eocene limestone (15 meters thick) where the Eocene limestone is unconformably overlain, the UK campanion chalk (60 meters thick). It is interesting to mention that the French use this type of chalk for spirit filtration.

The Campanion chalk underlain by fossiliferous limestone beds belong to Santonian and Anteronian age (175 meters thick) overlain the Cenomenian sandstone (over 30 meters thick) sitting at the base of the mountain.