A common practice in Egypt in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was for farmers to obtain government permits to remove soil from ancient mounds (tels) to use as a type of fertilizer which they called "sebbakh". An archaeological site could provide an excellent source of sebbakh because decomposed organic debris creates a soil very rich in nitrogen. Nitrogen is an essential component in fertilizers for crops.

Unfortunately, numerous potentially valuable archaelogical finds were destroyed by the farmers in this way.