Djedefre's Water Mountain: Phases of Degradation

The landscape 60-90 km west of Dakhla is characterised by many isolated mountains. Some are decorated with rock art, in general petroglyphs. There is one with hieroglyphic inscriptions and cartouches of Pharaohs as well as petroglyphs. Its discoverer Carlo Bergmann called it Djedefre's Water Mountain; others name it after Khufu. The mountains themselves represent a stage of weathering, which converts the sedimentary layers back into fine-grained material. In the course of the natural destruction of the rocks the petroglyphs are also degraded. In addition, various groups of humans, from pre-Pharaonic visitors to modern archaeologists and tourists, have contributed to the deterioration. Certain aspects of the degradation can be assigned to specific groups of people.