Seti I Before Hathor (B7)

This week, from the birthplace of Egyptology, the zenith of Pharaonic art…

 

Egypt warns pharaohs’ tombs could disappear

AFP – Wednesday, August 19

LUXOR, Egypt (AFP) – - The ornate pharaonic tombs in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings are doomed to disappear within 150 to 500 years if they remain open to tourists, the head of antiquities has warned.

Zahi Hawass said humidity and fungus are eating into the walls of the royal tombs in the huge necropolis on the west bank of the Nile across from Luxor, which is swamped daily by several thousand tourists.

Poor ventilation and the breath of the hordes of visitors are causing damage to the carvings and painted decorations inside the tombs, he told journalists on a tour of the royal necropolis on Monday.

“The tombs (in the Valley of the Kings and nearby Valley of the Queens) which are open to visitors are facing severe damage to both colours and the engravings,” Hawass said.

“The levels of humidity and fungus are increasing because of the breath of visitors and this means that the tombs could disappear between 150 and 500 years.”

The Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, where pharaonic royalty was mummified, is home to the tombs of legendary pharaohs such as the boy king Tutenkhamun and Queen Nefertiti.

Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities have taken a series of measures to protect the tombs, including setting up new ventilation systems, restricting the number of visitors and closing some tombs.

Hawass said the authorities have also decided “to close some tombs definitively to tourists and replace them by identical replicas,” including those of Tutenkhamun, Nefertiti and Seti I.

“A team of experts is currently using laser technology to examine these tombs in order to build the replicas… which would then open to visitors in a place near the Valley of the Kings,” Hawass said.

Link to full article

The idea of building exact replicas of the most visited tombs has long been suggested, though this is perhaps one of the most concrete statements I have come across so far that the SCA is seriously looking into giving this idea the go ahead.

 

UNESCO praises efforts for developing Luxor

From the State Information Service (Link to original article)

“UNESCO has commended Egypt for its efforts to develop the Upper Egyptian city of Luxor,” Head of Higher Council of Luxor City Samir Farag said Tuesday8/7/2008.

The international organization also hailed projects being implemented to turn Luxor into an open museum, he added that such admiration has been expressed to the Egyptian delegation to the annual conference of the World Heritage Committee being held in Quebec, Canada, he pointed out.

Projects implemented in the city fall within the overall development plan that runs till 2030, he said.

Also, a more complete article is available on Jane Akshar’s blog

For those who have only visited Luxor within the last few years, or who have never been in person, it’s hard to understand the scale of development that has taken place around Luxor Temple, as well as on the west bank, where several sites have  had extensive works carried out, such as the Valley of the Kings visitors centre.

Meanwhile, as I write, the approach to Karnak is also being completely revamped. No one can deny that a lot of money is being pumped into these projects and that they are viewed by both the SCA and the touristic powers that be as the way of the future.

 

SCA Ticket Price Rises

This is somewhat delayed news, as I only actually found out when Googling for information for myself. From the “Luxor News” blog of Jane Akshar.

SCA Ticket prices are to rise 25% from November 2008. A list of the rises on the blog above only gives the full (foreigner) rate however, so whether or not this will affect ticket prices for Egyptians and students I don’t know. Just be aware, as the guide books probably won’t be updated in time.  Expect guided tours and excursions to reflect the increase, though independent travellers in particular, should adjust their budgets accordingly.

As for me, It looks like my wish to try and grab a few nights comfort on my next trip by taking two or three nights in a nice hotel, to indulge the body and belly for a while, just went west. Back to the baladi bread and  bottles of warm tap water it is then…

 

Excavation of tomb of Seti I (KV17) – New finds

From the State Information Service (full article)

Egypt announced Thursday 10/4/2008 the discovery of a quartzite Ushabti figure and the cartouche of King Seti I, second king of the 19th Dynasty (1314-1304 BC).They were found inside the corridor of the tomb of Seti I (KV 17) in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s west bank.

The discovery was made by the first ever Egyptian mission working in the Valley of the Kings, after being monopolized for the past two centuries by foreigners, said Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

A number of clay vessels were also unearthed along with fragments of the tomb’s wall paintings which may have fallen after its discovery. During the process of cleaning the tomb, it was also revealed that the length of the corridor measures 136 meters, and not 100 meters as the tomb’s discoverer, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, originally mentioned in his report, Hawass said.

No more information than this at the moment. However an “extra” 36 meters of corridor is no small thing. Clearly, proper mapping is  needed and this work is beneficial, especially if it can lead to the restoration of the extremely fragile, and spectacularly beautiful, walls of Seti’s tomb. It seems recent times may not have been terribly kind.

For those unaware of the current situation in Valley of the Kings, the SCA has recently been conducting extensive excavation and research work of it’s own in the valley, particularly around the area of Merenptah’s tomb (KV8), where it expects to find previously undiscovered tombs. The Amarna Royal Tombs Project conducted ground radar surveys around the area of Tutankhamun’s tomb (KV62) a few years ago, and though the SCA are not digging in exactly the same area, it is nearby (see the Theban Mapping Project map of the valley for a better idea of the layout) so whether or not there is some relation between the radar findings of ARTP and the current exploration frenzy, who knows… Not much is being said by either side at this point in time.

However it would also appear that work is now being carried out in KV17 as well, which has been closed for some time, and it certainly seems to be paying off. Seti’s tomb (KV17) is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the valley and I hope the fallen wall fragments can be salvaged.