Ramesses VI (KV9) Sarcophagus Conservation
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From the destruction of the sarcophagus in antiquity until its restoration beginning in the summer of 2001, the hundreds of fragments making up Ramesses VI’s inner sarcophagus remained scattered around the burial chamber of KV 9. Over the millennia they had been moved from the sarcophagus pit to the platforms at the north and south ends of the burial chamber. Project Director, Dr. Edwin Brock and his team’s goal was to finally reassemble the box and lid. This set, made of green conglomerate and mummiform in shape, is one of two sarcophagi found in the tomb. The other, outer sarcophagus was broken into two pieces and remains in the sarcophagus pit. The second box is decorated with painted figures and texts. These were documented by the project’s archaeological illustrator, Lyla Pinch-Brock. The decoration is similar to that found on royal sarcophagi of the 19th Dynasty. The decoration was partially obscured by the remains of a resinous substance poured over the sarcophagus as part of the funeral ritual. Test cleaning was carried out but yielded varying results. Due to the inconsistent results and the coating’s ancient context, it was decided not to remove any more of the material. The face on the lid of the second sarcophagus was missing; it had been taken to England by Giovanni Batista Belzoni who collected antiquities on behalf of the British Consul, Henry Salt. Installed in the British Museum in 1823, the project commissioned a fiberglass replica. This was matched up with the lid fragments and the assembly is now on display in the back of the tomb. In the spirit of maximizing the informative potential of the artifact by preserving it in its original context, all the work on the sarcophagus was carried out within the tomb. This included conservation, restoration, and final display. Keeping the objects in situ also minimized handling and potential wear. As a result, a significant part of the pilot season was geared towards site preparation -- the installation of an air system to reduce the circulation of dust and other irritants, temporary platforms, an overhead winch, and ramps. All fragments, their surfaces, joins and conservation, were recorded before final assembly. The sarcophagus box was built with the floor laid first, then the sides. Fragments not included in the assembly were displayed nearby. KV 9, with the restored sarcophagus of Ramesses VI, was re-opened to the public by the Egyptian Antiquities authority on March 21, 2004.
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Ramesses VI (KV9) Sarcophagus Conservation project was made possible with funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grant No. 263-G-00-93-0089-00 (formerly 263-0000-G-00-3089-00) and administered by the Egyptian Antiquities Project (EAP) of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE).
Conservation and Documentation of the Tomb Chapel of Menna (TT 69)
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The Tomb of Menna, Theban Tomb number 69, is located in the Theban necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna in Luxor, Upper Egypt. The rock-cut tomb is famous for the completeness and superb quality of the paintings that adorn its walls. Structurally, the tomb chapel takes the form of an inverted T, with a forecourt, broad hall, and inner hall leading to a statue shrine. The painted decoration is organized symbolically along a central axis that reflected the deceased’s transition from the land of the living in the east to the land of the dead in the west. As such, the walls in the broad hall are concerned primarily with the official duties and celebrations of Menna’s life, while the walls in the long hall depict scenes of his transition to and life in the hereafter. Menna was an elite official recognized and honored by King Amenhotep III with the Gold of Honor collar, a collar of golden disc-shaped beads, which he wears in most scenes. Menna’s official titles reveal that he was a Scribe, and Overseer of the Fields of the Lord of Two Lands and the Temple of Amun. These titles indicate that Menna administered both state and temple fields, which was an unusual occurrence in the 18th Dynasty. The Broad Hall Near Left wall, abbreviated as BHNL, is also known as the “Agricultural Wall,” and depicts some of Menna’s official responsibilities. Menna’s wife, Henuttawy, appears alongside him on most of the tomb’s walls and bore the titles of “Chantress of Amun” and “Mistress of the House.” Also notable is the intentional damage inflicted on Menna’s likeness in an act of damnatio memoriae, and later destruction to the name of Amun by the agents of Akhenaten. The project, directed by Dr. Melinda Hartwig, set an unprecedented standard for the conservation and non-invasive documentation of ancient Egyptian tombs. Dr. Hartwig led an interdisciplinary team of experts that undertook the conservation, archaeometric examination, and digital recording of the tomb. The project resulted in an invaluable collection of high-resolution, digital images that were stitched together to create an exact copy of the tomb walls, which were then traced as vector drawings to create line drawings of the decoration. The collection also includes reports, slides, and digital images shot with raking light and ultraviolet light.
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The conservation of the Tomb of Menna was made possible with funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Agreement No. 263-A-00-04-00018-00 and administered by the Egyptian Antiquities Conservation Project (EAC) Agreement No. EAC-11-2007 of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE). The Interuniversity Attraction Poles Program provided additional financial support.