The Valley of the Replicas
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Image by kairoinfo4u via FlickrSoon the the most popular tombs in the west bank of ancient Thebes will be visited only by the rich and famous. There will be a “Replica Valley” for the rest of us.
The valleys of the Kings and Queens lure thousands of tourists to the Theban west bank every day, bringing valuable revenue for Egypt and an unforgettable experience for them. But it has a downside. The hot, stale air they exhale with every breath they take is causing serious damage to the walls, especially painted surface. The breath increases the humidity, and in some cases creates fungus on the tombs’ inner walls.
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA, told Al-Ahram Weekly that this means some tombs needed added protection, while others needed to be closed completely in order to save their paintings.
As a first step, the SCA is currently installing a cool lighting system in the Valley of the Kings so that people can visit the tombs in the evening. This will help protect the paintings as it will spread the number of visits over the course of the day.
As for the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari, Hawass said a plan to protect them was now being implemented in collaboration with the British organisation Adam Lowe of Factun Arte. The plan is to create identical replicas of these tombs by making detailed high-resolution copies of the burial chambers, paintings and sarcophagi using laser scanners. After the replicas have been constructed they will be installed on the cliff side of the Valley of the Kings, which will be called “The Replica Valley” where visitors can experience their beauty with the knowledge that the ancient paintings are being preserved. Hawass pointed out that missing fragments from these tombs now held in foreign museum, would also be scanned and added to the overall reconstruction to give a complete picture of the tombs.
Hawass says 13 royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings were open but no one visits them. Once the most popular tombs are closed tourists will be more encouraged to visit the others. The original tombs can still be entered, but at a price. “Whoever wants to visit the original tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari must pay a huge amount of money,” Hawass says.
Excerpted from an article by Nevine El-Aref for Al Ahram
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