Introduction
Caves are considered one of the extraordinary natural features that have played an important role throughout human history, as they provided a suitable and attractive environment for human habitation, especially in prehistoric times (Gamble, 1986; Vermeersch et al., 1994; Hassan et al., 1996; Kuper, 1996; Barber and Hubbord, 1997; Mouret and Ostermann, 2001; Gunn, 2004; Tolan-Smith, 2004; Culver and White, 2005; Kindermann et al., 2006; Darnell, 2008; Mlekuz et al., 2008; Linseele et al., 2009). Moreover, caves clearly reflected the interplay between man and his environment. Therefore, they are considered to be excellent archives of environmental changes (Woodward and Goldberg, 2001; Moeyersons et al., 2002; Goldberg and Sherwood, 2006; Delannoy et al., 2009; Psomiads et al., 2009). Pharaonic civilisation provides considerable examples of the relationship between man and caves. Natural caves are no longer an attractive and suitable environment for use. The ancient Egypti...