 Although the remains today are nothing compared to what was witnessed by the Arab historian, his testimony has inspired the work of many archaeologists.The first surveys and excavations of the 19th century, and the extensive work of Flinders Petrie, have been able to show a little of the ancient capital's former glory.Memphis and its necropolis, which include funerary rock tombs, mastabas, temples and pyramids, were inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1979.