Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur

• Growing number of visitors (issue resolved)
• Uncontrolled development of the nearby village (issue resolved)
• Deterioration of the monuments (issue resolved)
• Tunnel construction project
• Urban encroachment
• Infrastructure and tourism developments
• Development and Urban Infrastructure projects (including Ring Road project)
• Absence of a single integrated Plan of Management for the property

Total amount provided to the property: USD 100,000 for the Sphinx of Giza, Special Account for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Egypt: USD 2,203,304 dollars for the development of the management plans for the World Heritage sites of Historic Cairo, Memphis and Luxor

On 1 February 2018, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/86/documents. The report acknowledges the need to strengthen the protection and management of the property through a single enforceable Management Plan based on the Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (RSOUV) adopted by Decision 41 COM 8E, and notes that such a plan was submitted to the World Heritage Centre in 2017. Consistent with the findings of the 2017 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Technical Assistance mission and with Decision 41 COM 7B.78, the report notes the need for archaeological remote sensing survey and research of the area potentially impacted by the proposed Ring Road Tunnel to inform a technical archaeology report.  An ‘archaeological assessment’ report, which does not yet include remote sensing information was provided as an attachment to the State Party report.  Together with technical reports on traffic management and design details, the final archaeological assessment would feed into the design process and inform the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for the proposed Ring Road Tunnel, with all of these reports to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The State Party report also provides a status update on foreign mission projects, new discoveries, current projects, and removal of encroachments at the five component sites which comprise the property, noting:

• The Lighting and Security Project of the Giza Pyramids Area is due to commence in 2018;
• The Scan Pyramids project has been progressing at Giza since 2015 and discovered a huge cavity inside the Pyramid of Khufu;
• Work on the Giza Pyramids Plateau Development Project has recommenced, including construction of buildings for administration, tourist police, civil defence, and engineering management, as well as a visitor centre and parking and traffic facilities;
• The Memphis Site and Community Development Project, involving visitor services, interpretation and community outreach, opened at Mit Mahine in September 2017 and work has commenced on an enclosure wall;
• At Saqqara, the Step Pyramid and Southern Tomb Risk Mitigation and Restoration Project nears completion, the Saqqara Monuments Development Project opened in 2017, and the northern enclosure wall was completed;
• The Scan Pyramids project commenced work on the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur.

The State Party has made significant archaeological discoveries at the property and is undertaking research at the Pyramid of Khufu. It has also nearly completed the Step Pyramid and Southern Tomb Risk Mitigation and Restoration Project at Saqqara. It is recommended that the Committee commend the State Party for the progress made in this regard.

The State Party has committed to engaging with the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and the Committee over the possible development of an appropriate scheme for the Ring Road Tunnel across the Giza Plateau. The ‘archaeological assessment’ document provided does not yet include data from remote sensing activities, such as ground penetrating radar and magnetic survey, but does recommend that these processes should occur. Once a complete archaeological assessment, incorporating this information is available and, following review by the Advisory Bodies of this and other previously-submitted technical reports and engineering designs, the Ring Road Tunnel should then be subject to a comprehensive Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), prepared in accordance with the 2011 ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage properties, having particular reference to the RSOUV, which should also be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review.

Further to the findings of the 2017 joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Technical Assistance mission, the State Party should provide additional information about actions being taken to address the legacy impact of the abandoned 1995 Ring Road scheme, including dumps of soil/rock and construction debris, large-scale illegal sand quarrying, and waste incineration, all of which impacts adversely on the setting of some of the key component sites of the property.

It is of concern that the re-commenced Giza Pyramids Plateau Development Project has progressed so rapidly, apparently without external technical review of heritage impacts or consideration of a buffer zone for the Giza component of the property. Moreover, the Lighting and Security Project of the Giza Pyramids Area due to commence in 2018 raises concerns of potential visual impact and impact on the integrity of the property. Moreover, the Memphis Site and Community Development Project is being built without information on its exact location, design and impact on the property. It is therefore recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to submit more comprehensive information on Giza Pyramids Plateau Development Project, including Light and Security, and the Memphis Site and Community Development Project, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

The State Party is yet to respond to some matters raised in previous Committee Decisions, including investigation of national legislation specific to World Heritage properties, and the definition of a buffer zone and submission of a request for Minor Boundary Modification, particularly for the Giza component of the property, to provide protection from increasing urban pressure in Cairo.

It is recommended that the State Party invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission in collaboration with key national and international stakeholders, to evaluate the property’s state of conservation, the ongoing and planned projects and how they may affect the property’s OUV.