The second day of Moscow’s ‘Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology‘ was characterised by a biting cold, thanks to heating problems. But the topics being discussed certainly helped warm up proceedings. The first lecture of the day was given by the British Museum‘s Nigel Strudwick, who focused on the interaction of of tourists and local inhabitants at Luxor and the main historical monuments at Thebes, and the challenges facing archaeologists to carry out meaningful research in a modern environment. Dr Strudwick attempted to resolve some of the issues facing the city, and to reconcile the necessity of tourism to the area with harm being done to the advancement of archaeology.
Next up was Amsterdam University’s Dr Dieter Eigner, who reported on the work being done by a joint Russian-Dutch excavation mission at the eastern Nile Delta village of Tell Ibrahim Awad. Following Dr Eigner’s update, Dr Laurent Bavay from Universite Libre de Bruxelles enlightened a now-thawing audience on the rediscovery of the lost Theban tomb C3, which was first mentioned in 1886 by Swedish Egyptologist Karl Piehl. Now thought to be the rock-cut final resting place of a deputy of the overseer of seal-bearers during the reign of 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep II, also called Amenhotep. Dr Bavay described his team’s latest findings and Amenhotep’s context with regards to his namesake and predecessor Thutmose III.
Virtual TT 14 by Marilina Betro
The next compelling lecture will appeal especially to those with an interest in virtual worlds, such as Heritage Key’s very own Virtual Experience. Dr Marilina Betro of the University of Pisa updated the audience on the progress of her team’s virtual replica of Theban Tomb 14, which was built from 2005 to 2008, and has been improved and polished this year. However the purpose of recreating TT 14, on the west bank of the Nile at Dra Abu el-Naga, was not for entertainment but scientific research. Virtual reality provides a powerful tool for stimulating excavation, testing different hypotheses, reconstructing contrasting views of the site and for sharing new information and perspectives with colleagues all over the world.
The TT 14 virtual reconstruction began with cartography studies, upon which the models of the area were built. Next came 3D laser-scanning, from whence the the site’s high-resolution model was obtained (for web use, the resolution was lowered). Just like King Tut Virtual – and soon Stonehenge Virtual – TT 14 can be visited and explored by avatars, and users can chat with each other, change light and see artefacts found in the original tomb digitised through the 3Dscanning. Viewers can see artefacts both as they were found, and as they would have originally appeared.
Information about specific features of the tomb and its artifacts is available by clicking special links on the walls of the tomb. The other interesting feature of the project is Virtuoteca, a place to keep necessary information. Dr. Betro stressed that the virtual environment has been very useful for teamwork and education, and that they would expand the project to transport users to the whole of Dra Abu el-Naga.
Another Theban tomb, this time TT23 – the tomb of Thay, Royal Scribe of Royal Dispatchers at the time of Merenptah, was then discussed at length by Russian Academy of Sciences Egyptologist Sergej Ivanov. His team have been carrying out new surveys of the tomb, whose first excavation was in 1905 by R. Mond. Work was carried out in the 1980s but was never published, so Ivanov presented preliminary results of the latest work, carried out between 2006 and 2008.
After a short coffee break, when everyone was finally able to drink away their early morning chills, Dr Samekh Iskander from New York University’s Abydos Project presented the latest up-to-date architectural plans and observations of the phases of construction for the Temple of Ramesses II, as well as recently developed epigraphy techniques. Studies of pictorial practices in ancient Theban tomb paintings were then observed by Kerstin Leterme, of the University of Gent. She pointed to the dependence of painting style on the profession of the deceased. She also observed how modern technology allows not only to analyse pigments, but also to follow the gestures of the person who created the decoration. That means we’re currently able to identify the work of different painters individually.
Dr. Nigel Strudwick
Dr. Edwin Brock
The Kremlin
Restoration of Ramesses VI’s Sarcophagus
The day was moving fast, and it was now time for a true wonder to be presented to the expectant Moscow masses: the story of the sarcophagus of Ramesses VI, as told by Edwin Brock of the American Research Centre in Egypt (ARCE). Both sarcophagi of the 20th Dynasty king were broken during a robbery, leaving most of their fragments scattered along the burial chamber. Between 2000 and 2003 the inner sarcophagus was restored by a project funded by the ARCE, yet scientists are still searching for some of the missing fragments.
The restoration involved numbering existing pieces, decoration being transferred onto plastic film and ultimately renovated using typical images of the period. Then the restorators began to join pieces using the restored ornamental image as a clue. The restoration was performed on a special platform, after an Egyptian team cleaned all the pieces. The work required drilling and sometimes filling the gaps of the missing fragments to maintain the sarcophagus’ structure. The restoration also featured a copy of the face of Ramesses VI, which now finds itself in the British Museum. Now scientists are searching for the missing fragments with which to fulfil the restoration of the sarcophagus.
The treats kept coming, as we were handed another revelation by Dr Edward Loring from the Russian Institute of Egyptology in Cairo. Dr Loring revealed that the famous ‘yellow coffins’ of the 21st Dynasty were in fact white! The reason for their turning yellow is that the resin varnish which was initially applied to them began its life transparent, but over the course of 3,000 years turned its current colour, mutating all of the coffins. Restored images of the artefacts in question can be found at www.cesras.org, under the special address www.aegypt.us.
Dr Alexander Gormatyuk rounded off an exciting and fascinating day with his inspiring lecture about preserving damaged Egyptian heritage. The main aim of his Russian group’s preservation work was to restore Coptic patriarchate sites. In all the team repaired around 2,000 Coptic icons. In 2004 Zahi Hawass’ Supreme Council of Antiquities invited Russian scientists to restore the church of El Moa’allaqa (the Hanging Church, which Heritage Key covered recently) and the St. Tekla Hamanud Chapel. More than 50 experts worked for six seasons to restore beautiful paintings, mosaics, wall ornaments and an altar with ivory elements.
Restoration works were also performed at the necropolis of Deir el-Banat in Fayum. More then 70 different artefacts were conserved, as well as Greco-Roman and early Christian tombs. In 2006 the Russian team began to work on the preservation of Tomb 23 of Thay in Luxor, which is in rather good condition with different paintings. At present the scientists are searching its best method for restoration and conservation.
After another lunch break the participants were treated to a guided tour round Moscow’s famous Kremlin, before returning to their hotels – their heads filled with even more tasty chunks of modern Egyptological knowledge.
Keep tuned for days three & four, read up on day one or the conference in general.