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National Geographic : 1966 May
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sculptured surfaces must be as thin as is humanly possible. This is true for the facades as well as the interiors of the temples. With saws we cut only an inch or so deep into the sculptured side of the slabs, then drill holes through which we drive steel pins. When by careful excavation we have approached from the outside to within 80 centime ters-31 inches-of ceiling or walls, we begin to cut from that side. Using pow er saws, we make a much wider cut but work faster. The steel pins tell us where to run the cuts from the outside so that they coincide with the thin cuts made from inside." At the time of our conversation, Diether did not know yet how they would work a slab loose when the cuts approached each other. "One possi bility," he told me, "is to use wedges" -the method finally adopted. Many people believe the ancient Egyptians split granite with moistened wooden wedges. I recalled this to Die ther. Half seriously, he answered: "If you want to stay around, you better banish the word 'water' in connection with the temples, even in your dreams." The temples are sandstone, and ar cheologists fear not only the damage but also the discoloration that water can cause. That is why special care must be exercised in any use of rein forcing cement. When the two temples of Abu Simbel are completely dismantled, they will form a jigsaw puzzle of 950 pieces. Of 738
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