construction of underground works and tunnels in ancient egypt

Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17(2002) 295–304

0886-7798/02/$ - see front matter� 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.PII: S0886-7798Ž02.00025-1

Construction of underground works and tunnels in ancient Egypt

M.E.A. EL Salam*

Bureau Egyptian de Conseils, Techniques BECT, Mohandeseen EL Askaryeen BLDG 1, App 3, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt

Received 11 April 2001; received in revised form 4 April 2002; accepted 12 April 2002

Abstract

The Ancient Egyptian has an important role in developing the use of the underground especially in the construction of: tombs,warehouses, water passages, and tunnels which were used as accesses to tombs, worshipping rooms and the warehouses. Thesetunnels were constructed through rock cutting. The underground construction by the Ancient Egyptians was based upon engineeringprinciples represented by the construction angle treatment of the different levels, the required height declination angles and theconstruction method itself, either by rock digging or stone construction. The great interest and attention given by the AncientEgyptian to the eternity of the life after death provided the utmost impact to encourage a strong interest in the tomb architectureand in the philosophy of underground construction.� 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Water passages; Construction; Architecture; Declination; Philosophy; Pyramids; Tombs; Necropolis; Thebes limestone; Esna shale

1. Introduction

1.1. Geography

Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs, consists of a narrowstrip of fertile, alluvial soil along both banks of the riverNile. In its lower (northern) part, the river divides toform a great Delta of sluggish outlets to the Mediterra-nean Sea, while to the east and roughly parallel with itscourse, extends the Red Sea. The river Nile, has anuntold value to Egypt. It not only forms a route of tradeand communication, but also, because of its overflowingand fertilizing water, convert desert sands into fruitfulfields. Therefore, on its banks the Egyptians sited theirvillages, cities, monuments and cemeteries. In thesecemeteries are the underground tombs of the Kings andNobles, the royal pyramids and the Priest-dominatedtemples(Fig. 1).

1.2. Geological parameters

The geology of Egypt is generally described in detailsby Said, Roushdy ‘The Geology of Egypt’, Elsevier1962.

*Chairman, Egyptian Tunnelling Society, E.T.S. Tel.:q202-2600-488; fax:q202-2601-770.

E-mail address: [email protected](M.E.A. EL Salam).

Since most of the important underground structureslies in Theban Necropolis and mainly in the valley ofthe Kings (both east valley and west valley), somegeological information will be given about this valley.The valley is located in the western desert, severalkilometers west of the river Nile across from Luxor andKarnack temple located on the east side of the river.The valley is bounded on both sides by hills that aretypically 60 m high above the valley bottom. Further tothe west, maximum elevations reach nearly 300 m abovethe valley bottom. The valley slopes are formed byvertical cliffs in the upper part, and by hills withrelatively flat slopes of approximately 25–88, in thelower part. Geology of the area is described in generalby Said (1962) and in much more details by Curtis(1979).The rocks underlying the valley area are of sedimen-

tary origin of Lower Eocene age. Two formations havebeen defined: the upper Thebes limestone formation andthe lower Esna Shale formation. They are both flat lying(Fig. 2). In the area where most of the tombs have beenexcavated, the Esna Shale is deep blow the surface.Most of the tombs in the valley have been cut andconstructed in the limestone of Thebes formation. Onlyfew tombs were dug deep enough so that they encoun-tered the underlying Esna shale(Figs. 2a,b).

296 M.E.A. EL Salam / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 295–304

Fig. 1. Location plan of Ancient Egypt most important sites.

Fig. 2. Conceptual geological map of the Valley of Kings.

A fault approximately parallel with the valley wasverified in one of the side valleys on the west of themain valley. Only surficial soils of alluvial origin arewell developed in the valley and in all smaller sidevalleys. The alluvial soils are typically a mixture ofcoarse, angular fragments of local limestone with finergravel, sand and silt. The angular character of limestonefragments indicates a limited length of transport and aflood-event origin of these sediments.Stone is abundant in Egypt in quantity and variety

and was used as a building material in all-importantstructures. The chief kinds of stone were limestone.Limestone rocks extend up-river from Mokattam Hillsin the vicinity of Cairo as far as Edfu, south of Luxor.In the Valley of Kings, all the tombs are located withinthe lowest layer of the Theban limestone(Fig. 2a,b)

which has been generally described by Curtis(1979) asa massive buff limestone with lenses of flint and shaleinterbeds in the lower part above its contact with theunderlying Esna shale. The rock samples from thislimestone characterize it as a relatively soft tan of goodquality, hard compact, finally crystalline, creamy white,massive almost homogeneous lime-mudstone composedmostly of carbonite minerals, calcite and dolomite, tracesof montomorillonte clay, habite and quartz(Hamza,1994).Also the Esna shale layer is described by Hamza

(1994) as a dark gray soft rock moderately compact,creamy, buff colored shale composed of carbonite min-erals (calcite, dolomite or magnesium calcite) clayminerals(illite and montmorillonite) and halide miner-als. It is known mostly from the large outcrops foundin the vicinity of the city of Esna, 50 km south of theValley of Kings.In the valley of the Queens, where outcrops of the

Esna shale are more abundant, the Esna shale was foundto be interbeded with anhydrite(CaSO) (Skala and4

Bukovanska, 1996).Beyond Edfu the formation changes where much

sandstone is found from which Ancient Egypt’s finesttemples were built. It is partly owning to the durablenature of these building materials that so many monu-ments still exist. The gigantic scale which distinguishesEgyptian monuments was made possible not only bythe materials, but also by the method of quarrying,transporting and raising enormous blocks of stone intoposition. Quarrying was done with copper tools and byuse of timber wedges which, when swollen by water,splits the blocks away from the natural rock. Massiveblocks of harder stones were often obtained by labori-ously pounding trenches around them with balls ofdelorite, a very tough greenish stone. Delorite was alsoused for dressing the hard stones. Drilling and sawingof stones were known to the Ancient Egyptians fromearly times.

297M.E.A. EL Salam / Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 17 (2002) 295–304

Fig. 2 (Continued).


Fig. 3. Mastaba tombs.

Fig. 4. Step pyramid of Zoser–Sakkara.

2. Construction of underground works in tombs andpyramids (Fakhry, 1982a,b; Shouky, 1970; Banster,1989)

Ancient Egyptians gave utmost care to bury theirdead in the underground, since they believed so stronglyin an after-life. The idea of this underground burialplace called ‘tomb’ started even before the time ofdynasties.In the predynastic period, the tomb was formed by

digging a simple pit in the dry desert sand. These pitgraves were lined with wood or mud bricks and roofedwith matting or stone slabs and eventually some graveshad small super-structure of brick or rubble. This wasdeveloped in the period of the Old Kingdom(dynastiesI–X) by constructing a double storey tomb of an upperand a lower level. The upper level is in a rectangularshape with flat top called ‘mastaba’. The lower is anunderground level, the floor of which was covered by

mortar, crushed stones and straw. These mastabas—liketheir houses—were built of sun-dried brick walls(Fig.3).Later the idea of mastaba evolved towards the true

pyramid, by King Zoser from the third dynasty whobuilt his stepped pyramid at Sakkara. This pyramid wasof stone, as were also by this time many of the othermastabas which were to continue as the customary formof tombs for the less important personages(see Fig. 4and art 4).It was during the fourth dynasty that the royal pyramid

was fully evolved. This achievement is represented bythe famous three pyramids at Giza. The great pyramidwas built by Khufo, the second by Chepren and thethird by Mekerinos. Many other pyramids followed inother locations, chiefly Abusir and Sakkara for the Kingsof the fifth and sixth dynasties, but in the latter part ofthe period, pyramids give evidence of a decline, herald-ing the political and social upheavals of the seventh and


later dynasties. These pyramids had their subterraneanchambers with their subterranean accesses.In the Middle Kingdom(dynasties XI–XVII), and in

the eleventh dynasty EL Der EL Bahary Temple wasbuilt by Menthetop II, which is an elaborate, terracedmortuary temple and in which was combined a small,completely solid pyramid, raised on a high base, with arock-cut tomb driven deep into the base of the sheercliffs behind. Thereafter pyramids usually were of crudebrick faced with masonry. Amenemhat one of the twelfthdynasty founded the great temple at Karnak. The otherKings (especially the three Senonserts) built tombs,temples and pyramids, the latter still grand in dimen-sions, but inferior in construction to the stone-coredpyramids of the third and fourth dynasties at Giza. Tothe eleventh and twelfth dynasties belongs a series ofopen-fronted tombs at Beni-Hassan.In the recent kingdom dynasties(XVIII–XXX ) or

the new empire Egypt was glorious in the arts of peaceand war. The royal tombs were without exception rockcut, secreted in the Theban hills in the Valley of Kings,their funerary temples being completely detached andstanding on the rocky shelf westward of the cultivatedland. It is worthy to mention here that Queen Hatshepsut,a remarkable figure of this period, built her funerarytemple at EL-Dir EL-Bahary adjacent to that built inthe middle kingdom already mentioned in(2.5). It isalso worthy to mention that the Kings of the 26thdynasty are the most who excavated their tombs at greatdepths in the natural rock reaching the layer of EsnaShale already mentioned.In the construction of the pyramids and underground

tombs, the ancient Egyptian considered—with greatcare—the provision of these constructions by a net ofunderground canals(tunnels) for the drainage of watercoming from rain or from the daily clearing and washingoperation resulting especially from the slaughter ofanimals presented—as offerings—to their Gods in thecourtyards of the temples(Hawass, 1995, 1997, 1998).

In all his construction sites, especially the tombs andpyramids, the Ancient Egyptian avoided the cultivatedland and thus avoided also problems arising from under-ground water and soft soil. Nearly most of the revealedmonuments are found to be built on rocky or sandysoils which were considered generally to be dry.

3. Geotechnical problems

Generally, we can state that most of what we can callnow geotechnical problems, were faced in the Valley ofKings in Thebes on the west bank of the River Nile infront of Luxor on the east bank where most of the largeimportant subterranean decorated tombs of the pharaohsare found.Most of the tombs were dug from the bottom of the

valley. The entry is formed by an inclined tunnel, which

connects to the horizontal burial chambers and otherrooms located deep below the valley bottom. Most ofthe rooms are of a rectangular shape, but sometimeshave an arched roof shape.Since the location of the tombs are in the lowest parts

of the valley floor, the potential for their flooding exists.It is mentioned that most of the area of the valley wasflooded at least ten times in the past and the depositionof the alluvial sediments significally contributed todamages of the tombs.Unfavourable geotechnical conditions in the valley

include or have contributed to the following conditions:

1. Presence of swelling-type clay minerals(montmoril-lonite) in some rocks of the Thebes formation but,more importantly, in the underlying rocks of Esnaformation.

2. Anhydrite found in abundant quantities in the EsnaShale especially in the Valley of the Queens may bea factor contributing to swelling of the Esna Shale.

3. Slope deformations(spreading) of the Thebes lime-stone blocks caused by volume changes in the under-lying Esna shale.

4. Extensive jointing(rock discontinuities) present inthe rock at tomb depth.

5. Presence of large, vertical, open fractures at thesurface of hills on both sides of the valley. Thesefractures can be traced both in the valley portionswhere the tombs are located. The fractures are easilyvisible in most of the area. The origin of thesefractures has never been interpreted, although somegeologists considered them to be faults.

The following sections will illustrate examples ofthese underground works in the three main kingdoms ofthe ancient Egypt the old(I–X dynasty), medium(XI–XVII dynasty) and recent (XVII–XXX dynasty)(Hawass, 1995, 1997, 1998; Bukovansky et al., 1997).

4. The step pyramid of Zoser, Sakkara (2778 BC,beginning of third dynasty–old kingdom)

This pyramid is remarkable as being the world’s firstlarge-scale monument in the shape of a pyramid andbuilt in stone. King Zoser’s architect, Imhotep, wasgreatly revered both in his own and later times. Thepyramid consists of two parts:

1. The first part is an overground part which contains acomplete mastaba with an extension for a six-steppedpyramid made up of layers inclined against a steepsided core. Its final dimension is 411-foot east–west,and 358-foot north–south and 200 foot high makingit to be 6 steps in its final shape.

2. The second part is underground tomb chambers,which usually were finished before the superstructurehad been begun. A pit of 24 foot side and 28 footdeep was the counterpart of the mastaba approached


Fig. 5. Great pyramid.

Fig. 6. Giza plateau.

by a horizontal tunnel emerging at the north tunnelin an open ramp, but this pit was deepened to 92 footin a later phase of construction and had an Aswangranite tomb burial chamber. The approach tunnelwas deepened and converted to a ramp entering thepit at a point some 70 foot above its base. From thebottom of the pit four corridors extend irregularlytowards the four cardinal points, connecting to galler-ies running in approximate parallel with the four sidesof the pyramid. Independent of the main subterraneansystem of the burial chamber of the King is a seriesof eleven separate pits, 106 foot deep on the eastside. These were the tombs of the royal family(Fig.4).

5. The great pyramid of Khufo (second king of thefourth dynasty, old kingdom)

The pyramid is the largest of the famous threepyramids on site at Giza. It was originally 480 foot(146 m) high and 756 foot(230 m) side length of asquare in plan with an area of approximately 13 acres,or more than twice that of S. Peter Cathedral in Rome(Fig. 5).The four sides which face the cardinal points, are

nearly equilateral triangles and make an angle of 518

529 with the ground. There are three separate internalchambers(supposed to be one burial chamber for theKing) but this was due to changes of plan in the courseof building.The subterranean chamber and the so-called Queens

chamber are discarded projects, abandoned in turn infavor of the King’s chamber where the granite sarcoph-agus is located. This subterranean chamber was reachedfrom the opening of the pyramid(55 foot above groundlevel) by a descending passage(tunnel) cut in theplateau of Giza rock with a length of 270 foot(82 m)ending by a chamber, which was abandoned when theplan was changed.

In the area of the pyramid, it seems that the AncientEgyptians were fond of underpasses below causewaysleading to the three pyramids in order not to interruptthe movement of the workers during construction andalso to permit the Priests to pass to their temples.Sometimes these causeways were considered as scaredpaths, the workers are not permitted to walk on it andtherefore it was necessary to cross them by theseunderpasses(Fig. 6).An obvious example also in the area of the pyramids

is the drainage underground canals for the drainagesystem in the funerary temples of Khufo and Chephern.In the courtyard of Khufo’s temple, a basin of 20 by 30foot and with a depth of approximately 7 foot was cutin the rock as a collector tank from which branch canalsgo out, most of its length was underground.Another example from this area is the underground

construction under the Sphinx and the pedestrian tunnelbetween it and the pyramids(Fig. 7).

6. Snousert Ankh tomb (medium kingdom)

Snousert Ank was the architect engineer of KingSnousert I. His tomb was discovered beside the pyramidof King Snousert I, one of the great Kings of themedium kingdom(dynasty XII).The tomb is surrounded by a limestone wall. A

descending tunnel from the north is leading to theburying room and ends at the bottom of a narrow well;its top is filled up with gravel and stones which collapseover the thieves who may try to punch its bottom.Beyond that there is a horizontal tunnel comprising fourbarricades, leading to the burying rooms.Fig. 8 illustrates the tunnel declination for the pedes-

trians (the right side), and the harmony of the variousheights together to permit its utilization for the proposedpurpose.


Fig. 7. Layout of temples and passages under Sphinx.

Fig. 8. Sonousert Ankh tomb.

7. Royal tombs in recent kingdom (dynasties XVIII–XXX from 1580 to 323 BC)

As already mentioned in(2.6), the royal tombs(eitherKings or Queens) were without exception rock cut,secreted in the arid mountains on the west side of theNile which is well known as Theban Necropolis, 900km south of Cairo. It is considered to be the richestarcheological site on the earth and one of the largest. Itcovers an area of 6 km(over 2 square miles) and was2

the burial place of New Kingdom Pharaohs, noblemen,officials and priests where thousands of tombs weredug: ranging from huge underground complexes in theValley of Kings—which is the most important part ofthe necropolis—to less elaborate tombs in the Valley ofQueens and small but elegantly-decorated tombs of theNobles. In the Valley of Kings over 60 tombs arediscovered(see Fig. 9). These underground tombs beingcarved in the valley walls, witness the complete aban-donment of the royal pyramid concept in favor of acorridor type tomb in which stairs, underground passages

and chambers extend as much as 690 foot(210 m) intothe mountain and up to 315 foot below the valleysurface. Also, the tombs range from one unfinishedburial underground corridor to a tomb of over 110underground chambers and corridors(KV5 describedlater). The sarcophagus of the King is usually laid in aconcluding rock-columned underground hall. The wallsand ceiling were elaborately painted with ceremonialfunerary scenes and religious texts. The tombs onlyserved for the sarcophagus and funerary deposits(Weeks, 1992, 1995).

7.1. Organization and construction of a tomb (Leonard,1994)

When a tomb was being built, there were typicallytwo gangs of workers, one for each side of the tunnel-like tomb. Each gang had between 20 and 30 men.Sometimes 60 workers were on a side according to thevolume of work. Wielding heavy sound dolomite stones,the workers first pounded out the apertures and tunnels


Fig. 9. (a) Theban sites.(b) The tombs in the Valley of Kings.

Fig. 10. Sety I tomb.

of the tomb. The rough walls created in this way werestraightened and plastered over to create a smoothsurface. Then a draftsman, sure and graceful of line,produced outlines of the royal divine figures as well asthe accompanying texts. A group of carpenters withtheir chief were in charge of all scaffolding necessaryfor shaping and decorating the tomb.While they were laboring, the workers stayed over-

night in a camp. The workmen worked only 8-h daysand had weekends off. Pharonic Egypt had a ten-dayweek.

On the job, there were two foremen, one for each ofthe two groups of tunnellers and a scribe, who workedwith both groups. These three officials were appointedby the vizier(one of the pharaoh’s high officials) whoalso controlled the village of workers, assisted by a localtribunal who managed the day-to-day life and disputes.The tomb workers and administrators must have thoughtof themselves as especially important civil servants asthey were performing a sacred mission.The responsibility of the chief scribe in the village of

workers included the distribution of pay to the tombworkers. He also controlled the tools used for construc-tion (chisels, hammers«) before and after distributionto workers to ensure that the crown had lost none of itsvaluable instruments. He kept the work diary, recordingthe work absences and excuses.The mortuary temples(e.g. Ramseum, Medinet Habu

and EL Dir EL Bahary) which are partially rock-cutstood completely detached, sited in the necropolis adja-cent to the western cultivated land where there weresimilar but smaller tombs of high ranking personnel.As an example of the most important tombs, are those

of Sety I, Ramses II and Sons of Ramses II, which shallbe illustrated here as excerpts of these large numbers ofthe tombs of Theban Necropolis.

7.2. Tomb of King Sety I (19th dynasty 1294–1279 BC)(see Fig. 10)

It is the longest deepest and most completely deco-rated of all tombs in the Valley of Kings. The depth ofthe burial chamber from the entrance level is 26 m(approximately 84 foot) and the depth of the farthestaccessible point in the far underground passage isapproximately 100 m(305 foot) Fig. 10.


Fig. 11. Ramses II tomb.

Fig. 12. Rames II sons tomb.

The tomb consists of seven corridors and elevenchambers. It opens with a series of four corridors(A,B, C, D), a deep well shaft(E), and a four-pillared hall(F) with two pillared side room F . At this point, thea

axis of the tomb shifts to the left and the tomb split intotwo levels. On the lower level, corridors G and H leadto room I (vestibule) which precedes the pillared burialchamber(room J) where the sarcophagus was found.Finally, niche J and rooms J , J , J , J and J area b c d e f

found directly off room J. At the rear of the burialchamber, a long passage K descends through the floordeep in the rock up to 100 m from the level of theentrance as already mentioned. Various opinions havebeen discussed about the function of this passage andto where it might lead but none is definite. The mostprobable one may be that it was thought at that timethat it ties the burial place of the King to the primevalwater of the God of Creation and Rebirth.

7.3. Tomb of Ramses II (19th dynasty 1279–1212 BC

67 years period) (see Fig. 11)

It is one of the largest tombs in the Valley of theKings. It covers more than 820 m , the burial chamber2

occupies 181 m . The design of the tomb conforms to2

the bent axis plan(Fig. 11).The entrance to the tomb is dug into the Theban

limestone and the tomb descends into the bed rock atan angle of 158 for approximately 70 m, after which itturns to the right and terminates in the burial chamberwhich is partly carved in the layer of Esna shale.The tomb begins with a series of two stairways(A,

C) and two corridors(B, D) gently sloping downwardtoward a well shaft(E). The first pillared hall(F) withtwo side chambers(aa, aaa) follows the well shaft(E)and leads to two more sloping passages(G, H). At theend of these passages we find an antechamber(J) andfinally the burial chamber(J) with six side rooms(a–

f) one of which has two side chambers of its own(ff–fff ).The burial chamber displays a new design. It is turned

sideways and there is a new emphasis on the sarcopha-gus which is placed at the center and not at the end ofthe burial chamber.

7.4. Tomb of the sons of Ramses II (19th dynasty 1279—1212 BC) (see Fig. 12)

The tomb is unique in size, in plan and in purpose.Many have called the discovery and work in this tomb,one of the most exciting and important archeologicaldiscoveries.The entry is formed by an inclined tunnel which leads

to two small similar chambers 1 and 2(Fig. 12).Chamber 3 is the largest room that measures 16=16 m(50=50 foot) and its roof is supported by 16 stonepillars. Chamber 4 is another smaller hall and is sup-ported by 6 stone pillars. Coming out from chamber 3,corridor 7–30 m long(100 foot) and has 24 burialchambers lying along the two sides of its length. At itsend from the other side of chamber 3 two transversalcorridors extend at its end and at right angles. Theirtotal length is 21 m and on each side of these twocorridors lie 16 side burial chambers. At the junction ofthe 3 corridors is a niche in which a 1.5-m(5 foot)high, figure of the God Osiris is carved in deep raisedrelief. Chambers 8 and 9 are two rooms at the beginningof corridor 7 on either side of the doorway from chamber3. They face each other across the corridor 7 and eachleads to 3 additional side chambers. Two of them aresmall vaulted rooms that actually lie under chamber 3.Corridors 11 slopes downwards and has a well-cut staircase at approximately 2y3 along its length. Corridor 12is one of 2 parallel corridors descending steeply awayfrom the front of chamber 3 back in the direction of thetomb entrance. Twelve side chambers are along thelength of the corridor which leads to a 3-pillar hall(chamber 14).


Most of the rooms are of a rectangular shape. All theroofs of the chambers and corridors are unsupportedexcept for the 3 largest ones. The levels of the floor ofrooms 1 and 2 after the entrance is 5 m below theentrance level while the depth in chamber 14 andcorridors varies between 10 and 15 m(in chamber 14).

8. Conclusion

Some technologies the Ancient Egyptians possessed,still astound modern artisans and engineers. They areutterly astounded by the achievements of those AncientEgyptians. They are astounded not so much by compar-ing their own accomplishments with what they perceivewhat a primitive society is capable of, but by comparingthe pre-historic artifacts with their own current level ofexpertise and technological advancement. So, eventhough the tools and machines have not survived thethousands of years since their use, we have to assumeby objective analysis of the evidence, that somethingsimilar did exist. The hammer was the first tool inventedand by hammer working metals, relatively unsophisti-cated tools have been used either in construction or inmaking some elegant and most beautiful artifacts. Thereis evidence that some other non-conventional machiningmethods were available, along with more sophisticated,conventional type sawing, lathe and milling practices(Dunn, 1998).The method of construction of these underground

tombs and accesses was mainly rock cutting and carving.The Ancient Egyptian did have a large experience incutting and digging in rocks. They used simple handtools and with the experience they got in treatment ofrock either soft(e.g. limestone and sandstone) or hard(e.g. granite, basalt, quartizete), they brought up thelarge number of monuments that we have discovereduntil now or that which may be revealed in the future.It is hard to think nowadays how they did such workswith their simple tools—comparing them with theresources we have now available either mechanical,electrical or other forms of developed equipment. Thetools available at that time—as already mentioned—did

not exceed those made from hard stone, wood, copper,iron and bronze. We can hardly imagine that all thesemonuments, pyramids, temples and underground tombswere constructed by hand and by these simple tools.The excellent planning, excellent alignment and the

perfection in what we call now the engineering designhelped to compensate the unavailability of equipment.Moreover, we have to admit that—thanks to having

the spirit, enthusiasm, seriousness, complete faith andconviction in their religion—they possessed the motivefor all their wonderful achievements which we can lookat it now with complete admiration and respect.

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construction of underground works and tunnels in ancient egypt

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