Monumental 3D Modelling: The Windy Sphinx

It isn't a surprise that in Egypt the - rather sandy at times - winds are a threat to the ancient monuments at the Giza Plateau. Wind influences are important environmental factors that cause deterioration and often irreversible damage to these historical heritage sites.

To understand how the winds are changing the shape of the monuments on the Giza Plateau in Egypt, IBM CAS Cairo's Ashraf Hussein and Hisham El-Shishiny created a three dimensional model of the region.  The case study shows the influences of wind as it flows over the "Giza Plateau" for the Northwest wind and the Southwest wind storms, detailing where the wind pressure and friction is the greatest.  Particular attention was paid to the Great Sphinx to investigate its most vulnerable parts to the wind, as one of the critical environmental factors that cause erosion of this colossal statue.

"The present work may give more insight on the effect of wind around the Giza Plateau when developing a global plan for conserving and protecting the site," said El-Shishiny.

The International Sciende Grid has created a fascinating slideshow ( hat tip to Talking Pyramids for this) where you can see some of the results of this case study by Ashraf Hussein and Hisham El-Shishiny. ISG says to pay extra attention to the last one of the slides, which shows the actual erosion of the Great Sphinx side by side with pictures that illustrate the model’s predictions for those same areas.

Upcoming next might be similar simulations that look at the wind-driven sand (which has completely buried the Sphinx several times throughout its history) are in the works, as well as research into the possibility of building a wall to reduce the wind's influence on the Great Sphinx.

In the mean while, the SCA is going to great lengths to keep the Sphinx's paws dry and protect it from the rising groundwater level. Eight pumping station were installed near the colossal statue, together removing as much as 7,000 cubic meters of water ever day, and reducing the level by about a meter. Watch this video of the drilling under the sphinx wherein Dr. Mark Lehner explains what is done to further protect the greatest of Sphinxes.

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Ann Wuyts (follow me: e-mail or )

Last three pieces by this author:

Unique Iron Age Hoard goes on display at Ipswich Museum | Royal Artefacts - Including King Tut's Golden Trumpet - Returned to Egyptian Museum Cairo | SCA releases full list of treasures missing from the Cairo Museum

Ann 'Vint' Wuyts is looking after the Heritage Key community and avatar health & entertainment. She is slightly fascinated by everything to do with 3D technology and what's commonly defined as 'Web 2.0'. When she grows up, Ann - eventually - wants to be a mummy. Favourite game: Buzzword Bingo /…