There are over 800 tombs in the Theban Necropolis, scattered across the hills of El Qurna. Only a handful of their decorations has survived centuries of floods, storms and decay - and of course the destructive effects of man. At present, around a dozen tombs are open to the public. The others can only be accessed for research purposes by applying for a permit. Many of these have not been opened for years, and are now completely covered in a thin layer of dust.
To begin, I have made surveys of all these tombs, to check the state of conservation of the paintings. I also made a detailed survey of the scenes and their conditions. At a later stage alongside my collaborators, we started shooting.
The project took eight long years to complete. There have been many moments when we have fallen foul of fickle technology, and technical difficulties have on occasion forced us to put the project on hold altogether.
