The Bent Pyramid in Dashur, Egypt. (Thinkstock)

It might seem logical to bury the recently deceased with the dead from past generations, but a sudden boom in the construction of tombs in Egypt is causing a clash between modernity and antiquity.

Since January 2013, around 1,000 tombs have been built across the protected land of the Necropolis of Dahshur, home to the world's oldest pyramids. The lack of space and full cemeteries forced local villagers to strike out into UNESCO Heritage protected land to build tombs for their recently deceased friends and family members.

"The dearest thing for us is burying our dead. This land here is wide and flat, it's a valley. Where are the antiquities they talk about? … We have no antiquities here," said one resident of Manshiet Dahshur to the Associated Press.

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In addition to illegally building tombs on the site of an ancient archaeological wonder, there have been 500 illegal excavations at Dahshur since 2011, reported The Guardian. Since the revolution in 2011, police have been more reluctant to patrol the streets and protected sites, leaving such issues unaddressed and forcing archaeologists and site inspectors to protect Egypt's pyramids from looters on their own, which can lead to violence.

Although some residents are defending their right to choose new burial grounds for their loved ones, other Egyptians are demanding the authorities do more to protect their country's threatened heritage. According to Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, a group of students and locals protested at the Bent Pyramid to draw attention to the plight of the historic site.

There are five pyramids at the Necropolis of Dahshur, two which are the oldest in the world. The Bent Pyramid, built by Pharaoh Snefru 4,500 years ago, was the first instance of pharaohs using pyramids as a burial monument and still has the original white limestone casing on the outside intact, says the BBC. The nearby Red Pyramid, built with red limestone, is the world's first smooth-sided pyramid.

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Rain clouds pass over a section of the Great Wall at Jinshanling, Hebei Province on June 10, 2012. A recent archaeological survey found its total length to be 21,196 km or 13,171 miles. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)