Spanish team to clean and restore the funerary temple of Thutmose III
Meet archaeologist Myriam Seco. This sort of Spanish “Indiana Jones” is a specialist in the search for hidden treasures. While few are likely to know her name, Seco is an eminence within the small circle of Egyptology.
Permanently settled in Egypt, Seco and her team will embark in six weeks of hard work. Their mission: cleaning and restoration of Thutmose III funerary temple in Luxor.
Nobody since the 60’s had a chance to trace the sand in this area. However, thanks to a grant of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Myriam Seco and her team will work there until October 30. The project includes mapping, photographic documentation and the availability of the temple so that it can be seen by tourists without affecting the restoration work.
Around a dozen people from different nationalities (Egyptian, Lebanese, Brazilian, Japanese, German and Spanish) will start work on the west bank of Luxor, about 700 kilometers from Cairo, with the aim of trying to unearth some of the mysteries of the sixth pharaoh of the XVIIIth dynasty.
Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) is one of the greatest rulers in the history of ancient Egypt, and his fame could not be overshadowed by his predecessor on the throne, the great Hatshepsut. After his death without progeny, Thutmose III began a glorious era of conquests and imperial expansion in Syria, Palestine and Nubia. Despite the fact that his funerary temple has not been preserved so well as that of Hatshepsut, Thutmose has bequeathed to history the expansion of the Temple of Amen at Karnak and the construction of seven huge obelisks of which four are still visible in Istanbul, Paris, Rome and New York.
The Spanish archaeologist explained that the project, funded by the oil company Cepsa for the next three years, will conduct an initial exploration of the land and the consolidation of temple structure still preserved, such as the pylon and the outside wall of mud. The team will be digging in front of the first pylon (the monumental entrance to the temple) to look for the location of the pier where the funerary boat approached.
Myriam Seco assures that this is an excavation with a great potential for discoveries, as can be seen through aerial imagery, such as statues and wall reliefs.
Translated from GACETA.es
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