THE THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE FACTUM FOUNDATION AND THE UNIVERSITY OF BASEL WORKING WITH THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES A REPORT ON THE WORK COMPLETED IN THE TOMB OF SETI I UP TO SEPTEMBER 2020 2 1 THE THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE FACTUM FOUNDATION AND THE UNIVERSITY OF BASEL WORKING WITH THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES A REPORT ON THE WORK COMPLETED IN THE TOMB OF SETI I UP TO SEPTEMBER 2020 Under the patronage of Detail from the ceiling of the Sarcophagus Room in the tomb of Seti I, recorded in 2019. TABLE OF CONTENTS This book is dedicated to the memory of Ayman THE THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE 5 Introduction 5 Mohamed Ibrahim, the former inspector of the Recording Progress: Lucida 3D Scanner 8 Valley of the Kings who understood the importance Recording Progress: Photogrammetry 10 of the work of the Theban Necropolis Preservation Recording Progress: Panoramic Colour Photography 12 Initiative and spoke about it with eloquence. Recording Progress: LiDAR 3D Scanning 14 Background: work in Luxor since 2001 19 Aims of the TNPI 22 The 3D Scanning, Training and Archiving Centre 25 Team Members: selected biographies 26 Training Program: September 2019 - September 2020 29 Scanning completed in the Tomb of Seti, September 2019- September 2020 31 Recording the fragments of the Tomb of Seti I 33 “The educational impact [of Factum’s digitisations and A new use for a facsimile in the Theban Necropolis: a collaboration with CSIC 37 facsimiles] for the general public is indisputible: now Summary of current position and future steps September 2019 - September 2020 39 scholars have to face the challenge of inserting these new SYSTEMS FOR DATA CAPTURE, PROCESSING AND STORAGE 43 tools into their research and exploiting their potential, LiDAR 45 before they are once more outwitted by commercial Lucida 3D Scanner 47 applications. The exhibition implicitly urges collaborations Photogrammetry 51 beyond the borders of museums and disciplines.” Panoramic Photography 53 Arnold Nesselrath DATA DISPLAY 59 Layered Browsers 63 Review of the exhibition Raffaello 1520-1483 at the Annotated LiDAR 3D tour of the tomb of Seti 65 Scuderie de Quirinale, Rome, in The Art Newspaper, July 2020 RESPONSES TO TNPI’S ONGOING WORK 71 Getty Conservation Institute and Carleton University 71 Nicholas Reeves’ discovery in the tomb of Tutankhamun 77 The burial of Nefertiti: a text by Nicholas Reeves 79 “Factum preserves evidence, neither reconstructing nor THE PARTNERS 81 reformulating narratives.” TIMELINE 82 Katrina Kufer FRAGMENTS RECORDED OUTSIDE OF EGYPT 83 Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Autumn 2018 BIBLIOGRAPHY 84 DONORS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 86 THE THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE A view of the restored Stoppelaëre House with a render of the proposed signage for the training centre. Left page: Amany Hassan scanning above the niche in Chamber Jb. The Theban Necropolis Preservation Initiative (TNPI) is a collaboration between Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation and the University of Basel under the aegis of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. Since 2016 the TNPI has worked to digitally document the tomb of Seti I, the largest and most important decorated tomb in the Theban Necropolis, at the highest resolution possible in 3D and colour. The initial recording work began in 2001 with a close-range laser scanner that has evolved over the years. Recording was also carried out in the burial chamber of Thutmosis III in 2002 and in Tutankhamun’s burial chamber in 2009 and again in 2019. The data is being used for both online and offline applications. Online it is being used for study, condition monitoring, sharing and communicating the importance of pharaonic culture. Offline it can be rematerialised at 1:1 as an exact facsimile that is indistinguishable from the original to the naked eye under normal lighting and viewing conditions. On 14th November 2012 Baroness Ashton, the EU High Representative, said the following words on the occasion of the donation of Factum’s facsimile of the Tomb of Tutankhamun to Egypt: ‘The gift of the facsimile is a metaphor for the relationship between Europe and Egypt - the skills and technology that have been developed in Europe to create the facsimile are going to be transferred to Egypt where the local workers will be trained and those very skills and technology will become Egyptian.’ Since the start of 2019 the work of the TNPI has been carried out by a totally Egyptian team working with Factum Foundation. One of the main goals of the TNPI since the beginning has been to ensure that the local community benefits from internationally funded efforts to preserve cultural heritage. The fact that the training is proving effective, with an Egyptian team now carrying out all operations on the ground, is an example of successful capacity building. Over the 5 THE THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE past year, the Luxor team has grown to include six local people in addition to Aliaa Ismail, the director of the TNPI’s Centre for Scanning, Training and Archiving. It is proposed that four more will be trained over the coming 24 months. Stoppelaëre House, a prominent building at the entrance to the Valley of the Kings designed by Hassan Fathy and restored by Factum Foundation and Tarek Waly in 2016-17, is the base from which all work is co-ordinated and all training carried out. The building also serves as the temporary archive while the data is being processed and before it is given to the Ministry. The 3D Scanning, Training and Archiving Centre still needs to have a reliable water supply installed and to secure better internet access, but it has already been vital in the success of the TNPI’s work. Assistance from Factum Foundation’s Madrid team has been limited to sending money, remote support and troubleshooting. Factum’s involvement is focussed on improving the speed and quality of the work, maintaining the equipment, checking the 3D data online, providing online training/support and upgrading the equipment. Members of Factum’s core team travel to Luxor to continue training, maintaining equipment and ensuring that new innovations are passed on to the TNPI team. The Coronavirus pandemic has restricted work since April, but in line with Egyptian regulations, a reduced workforce was able to return to the tomb of Seti in July. TNPI was the first team to resume work in the Valley of the Kings. In many ways, the crisis has also underlined the importance of the work being carried out by the TNPI: 2020 has seen a new global recognition Scanning in the Sarcophagus Room in the Tomb of Seti I following the partial lifting of restrictions due to COVID-19, July 2020. of the importance of digital recording for documenting and displaying cultural heritage. At the start of the COVID-19 shutdown institutions and cultural organisations were forced unexpectedly to move all audience engagement online. It suddenly became clear that – with almost no exceptions – museums large and small alike were lacking the digital assets required for a meaningful online presence. With international travel severely restricted for the foreseeable future, there is suddenly a pressing need for high-resolution data which is accessible in innovative forms and which can be used by many different audiences, from specialised scholars to the curious looking for something interesting to attract their attention. 2020 saw the launch of the 3D model of the Tomb of Seti I, which brings together a complete model of the tomb interior with the high-resolution recordings in colour and 3D of both the walls of the tomb and fragments removed at different times. There is a visceral and functional difference between this form of high-resolution 3D display and those recorded at the lower resolutions which are more commonly found online but seldom satisfying, engaging or meaningful. The past year also saw the start of the recording of the fragments gathered together by the University of Basel and currently stored in the tomb of Ramesses X. Both the recording of the fragments and the development of the 3D online model will be an important part of the work of TNPI in the year ahead. The TNPI is at a crucial point in its trajectory. It is setting standards both within the global field of high-resolution heritage recording and in local capacity building. In a year of bad news for cultural heritage institutions worldwide, it is creating recordings which have been viewed across the world. It has brought a positive message of international collaboration and local empowerment. With the correct level of financial input, the coming years will see the cementing Members of the team return to the tomb after the partial lifting of restrictions in Egypt. of this pioneering initiative as a vital force for progressive, responsible conservation within the Valley of the Kings and hopefully elsewhere in Egypt. 7 THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE - FACTUM FOUNDATION KV 17 - Seti I Recording method: Lucida 3D Scanner SETI I. RECORDING PROGRESS: LUCIDA 3D SCANNING G Ja Jb A B C D E F Fa H I Je J K Jd Jc RECORDED IN 2016 RECORDED FROM OCT 2019 TO AUG 2020 IN PROGRESS SEPT 2020 THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE - FACTUM FOUNDATION KV 17 - Seti I Recording method: Photogrammetry SETI I. RECORDING PROGRESS: PHOTOGRAMMETRY G Ja Jb A B C D E F Fa H I Je J K Jd Jc RECORDED IN 2016 THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE - FACTUM FOUNDATION KV 17 - Seti I Recording method: Panoramic colour photography SETI I. RECORDING PROGRESS: PANORAMIC COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY G Ja Jb A B C D E F Fa H I Je J K Jd Jc RECORDED IN 2016 RECORDED IN 2019 THEBAN NECROPOLIS PRESERVATION INITIATIVE - FACTUM FOUNDATION KV 17 - Seti I Recording method: Lidar 3D scanner SETI I.