Influence of Seismic Hazards on the Giza Plateau in Egypt: Identifying Vulnerable Areas

Abstract The Giza plateau, including the Pyramids and the Sphinx of Giza, is one of the world's most iconic and historic monuments. Protection of these monuments is a conservation of heritage and a responsibility to sustain the value of this monumental complex. Understanding the vulnerability of this monumental complex is the aim of this research. Three-dimensional modeling for the Giza plateau has been considered with high precision to reflect this area's actual topology and elevation change. Finite element analysis is used to calculate the natural frequency and dynamic response regarding maximum displacement of the pyramids and the sphinx against various earthquakes. Seven earthquakes are used, and earthquakes not from the region are reasonably scaled to match the seismic properties of the region. The average weighted mean of the maximum principal stresses for the seven earthquakes is calculated, with weights related to the probability of exceedance of these earthquakes in a 100-year time, to identify the areas where failure and damage are more likely to occur and, hence, are vulnerable. It is concluded that critical vulnerable areas are the Sphinx's neck, arms, thigh, the Khafre and Khufu pyramids' base, the corner regions, and the plateau region connecting the pyramids to the Sphinx.