• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.950-956
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• 2018

For complete assessment of inhalation doses of radon and its progeny inside the three main ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, seasonal radon concentrations have been measured by using a new electronic device that allows for measurement of real-time-resolved radon concentrations. Measurements were complemented by very fast measurements of thoron concentrations, which turned out to be low. Based on these measurements, annual residence time inside these tombs and the newest International Commission on Radiological Protection-recommended radon dose conversion coefficients or seasonal effective doses were calculated. The results indicate that workers receive highest annual effective doses of up to 140 mSv, which exceeds the annual limit of 20 mSv, whereas lower values up to 15 mSv are received by guides. In contrast, much lower doses were obtained for one-time visitors of the investigated tombs. The obtained results are somewhat different but still consistent with those previously obtained by means of fixed passive dose meters at some of the investigated places. This indicates that reasonable estimates of the effective dose of radon can be also obtained from short-term radon measurements carried out only twice a year (summer and winter season). Increasing the ventilation, minimizing the working times, etc., are highly recommended to reduce the annual effective dose.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.08a
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• pp.157-179
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• 2004

The application of magnetic method for archaeoprospection has been carried out through two archaeological areas in Egypt, Abydos and Abu Sir, In order to find out tile ancient Egyptian archaeological features. The magnetic work at the selected archaeological site of Abydos area was carried out by gradiometer survey, while magnetic work at the selected archaeological site of Abu Sir area was carried out by gradiometer survey and magnetic susceptibility measurements. A gradiometer survey with raster of 0.5 m/0.5 m has been carried out on a surface area of $9600 m^2$ at Abydos area to relocate the buried Solar Boats. The magnetic data were processed using Geoplot software to treat the field noises and enhance the quality of the obtained images. The final magnetic images indicate the existence of 12 Solar Boats as well as tombs, remains of ancient rooms and walls. All of them are expected to belong to the Middle Kingdom, particularly from the 18th to 20th Dynasties. Two magnetic tools have been applied over a selected site of $25600 m^2$ at Abu Sir area in order to detect the hidden archaeological features nearby the Sun Temple. The acquisition of the magnetic data was initiated by the measurements of the topsoil magnetic susceptibility of 272 samples collected from the whole studied area, and then followed by the gradiometer survey to measure tile vertical gradient of the geomagnetic field over an area of $14400 m^2$. The magnetic susceptibility results show the presence of high concentration at the middle part of the study area with a little extension to the south western side, with maximum value of about $36{\times}10^5$ SI. They may indicate the proximity of ritual monuments. Also, they offered the site of interest for carrying out a gradiometer survey. The gradiometer results show tile existence of numerous distributed archaeological features made of mud-bricks with different shapes and sizes. They may indicate tombs, burial rooms, dissected walls; all of them are expected to belong to the 5th Dynasty of pharaohs, who used to build their buildings by mud bricks. The depth of the expected buried archaeological features has been estimated from tihe gradiometer. It is around 1.2m for deep features and 0.42 m for shallow features.