ABSTRACT
A rising groundwater table is being observed within the area of Greater Cairo east of the Nile over the last decade. The groundwater rise can be linked directly to the enormous population increase of the Egyptian capital and to human activities. The pleistocene aquifer underlying Cairo is constantly being recharged by extensive quantities of irrigation water and leakage losses from both the sewer system and the public water network. Since the completion of the Aswan High Dam the Nile lost its function as a drainage for the Cairo aquifer. A large number of Cairo antiques is already affected by foundation damages due to the rise of contaminated groundwater. Meanwhile the stability of several historic buildings is endangered. Results of geotechnical investigations at antique sites are rare and subsoil conditions are not known in detail. A rehabilitation programme to save the valuable antiques will require further site investigations and the application of specific rehabilitation and dewatering techniques for each selected object.
