The industrial landscape of the Northern Faiyum Desert as a World Heritage Site

Modelling the 'outstanding universal value' of third millenniumbcstone quarrying in Egypt

Bibliographic Data

ID3918788
AuthorsElizabeth Bloxam (University College London), Tom Heldal (Geological Survey of Norway)
Year2007
Volume39
Issue3
Pages305-323
Publication date2007-09-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-8243 • E-ISSN: 1470-1375
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00438240701464905
OpenAlexW2019817781
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited32

The pyramids and temples of the Egyptian Old Kingdom (early-mid-third millennium bc) are testament to an epoch of global significance in the evolution of monumental stone architecture. The basalt quarries of Widan el-Faras and gypsum quarries of Umm es-Sawan, located in the Northern Faiyum Desert of Egypt, were key production sites in the foreground of this transformation to large-scale stone quarrying. Yet, the significance and value of these archaeological sites in shaping elements of the cultural landscape of the Northern Faiyum Desert, currently under nomination for World Heritage listing, remains largely in the background. This paper attempts to develop a methodology to articulate 'outstanding universal value' and to raise the significance of the largely mundane and non-monumental remains of these production sites. By deploying formulations in landscape archaeologies and key concepts used in the nomination of the Blaenavon industrial landscape in South Wales as a World Heritage Site, it argues for the cultural landscape of the Northern Faiyum Desert authenticating one of the world's oldest 'industrial' landscapes related to large-scale stone quarrying. Also, much appreciation is extended to the first reviewers of this paper whose comments were extremely useful. We gratefully acknowledge the help and assistance from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in providing us with the opportunity to carry out this work as partners in the EU-funded QuarryScapes project. Special thanks to Ahmed Abdel Al, Director of SCA Faiyum, and Magdy el-Ghandour, Director of Foreign Missions, SCA Cairo, for their assistance in all aspects of the survey and to Samir Ghabbour of the UNESCO MAB Committee. Thanks also to our four trainees from SCA and EAIS for all their help during the survey of Widan el-Faras. It is also important to acknowledge the work of Jim Harrell at Widan el-Faras in the 1990s which initially raised the importance of this forgotten quarry site. Thanks also to the Leverhulme Trust for funding part of this fieldwork as part of an 'Early Career Fellowship' (Bloxam) and the EU Commission for funding all other elements of this work (6th Framework Programme, contract No 015416

Ancient history · Archaeology · Desert (philosophy · Geography · Plucking · Tourism · Universal value · Value (mathematics · World heritage · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History

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