Listed 4 sub titles with search on: UNESCO - World Heritage List for destination: "ALEXANDRIA Ancient city EGYPT".
The church, baptistry, basilicas, public buildings, streets, monasteries,
houses and workshops in this early Christian holy city were built over the tomb
of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in A.D. 296.
Threats to the Site:
A land-reclamation programme for the agricultural development of
the region, funded by the World Bank, has caused in the past ten years a dramatic
raise of the water table. The local soil, which is exclusively clay, is hard and
capable of supporting buildings when in a dry state, but becomes semi-liquid with
excess water. The destruction of numerous cisterns, disseminated around the city,
has entailed the collapse of several overlying structures. Huge underground cavities
have opened in the north-western region of the town. The risk of collapse is so
high that the authorities were forced to fill with sand the bases of some of the
most endangered buildings, including the crypt of Abu Mena with the tomb of the
Saint, and close them to the public. A large banked road, moreover, was executed
to enable movement within the site. The Supreme Council of Antiquities is trying
to counteract this phenomenon by digging trenches, and has enlarged the listed
area in the hope of lowering the pressure of the irrigation. These measures, however,
have proved to be insufficient, taking into account the scale of the problem and
the limited resources available.
Underwater archaeology & sustainable coastal development
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