EXCAVATION DIARY
2007 Campaign - From 27th October to 17th December
Diary - part XVII
20th November. As days go by, in the mornings we already begin to feel more coolness.
Victor continues "fighting" with the photographs that afterwards will be used by the team in its different sections: for their publication, for the design of the didactic pavilion or to include them in the Internet index cards so that that they are available for everyone that wants to have a look at the Web and some notes of the works that we are developing.
During these days several ceramic fragments have came out. Most of them are not special, but there are some pieces that are representative. Because of it, today we have proceeded to make a selection of the pieces that could contribute with some significant data of the surroundings where we are working.
Today we have received the visit of Mr. Gonzalo Pontes, President of ILAB and Lourdes Mayor. We have conversed with them and had some pleasant moments.
In the course of their visit a fragment of mummy has been located in the excavation. Once photographically documented, Victor, in his capacity as Forensic Expert, has proceeded to examine it. It seems to be a fragment of bone, of some 20 cm. that still conserves the mummification bandaging. The linen is of very good quality and presents remains of the ointments with which this body should had been anointed. The part that has been located corresponds to the humerus, of the zone that goes from the elbow to the shoulder. According to his opinion said rest seems to have been fragmented in the antiquity. It presents the bone splintered and very porous. In his opinion it could be a bone of an elderly person or of a woman, as it has a very porous aspect as if it had suffered osteoporosis.
Diary - part XVI
19th November. After distributing the daily works, Teresa begins the morning cleaning the rest of limestone with hieroglyphics that came out yesterday at the last moment. Once the initial filth has been removed remains of hieroglyphics painted in black are noticed. An ankh and a nesu are seen. There are more remains of hieroglyphics but the limestone is quite damaged in this part and makes difficult its reading.
The labourers continue working and sifting everything that comes out in the slope over the house.
Victor has devoted great part of the morning to verify some of the pictures that he took the previous day just in case he had to repeat some. Later he has continued with his progressive cabinet work and thinking up new "magic" data processing for Senenmut. The audiovisual will be a very important part of the second part of the Project as several of them will be shown to the public in the didactic pavilion.
Diary - part XV
18th November. Days pass and the works are already being finished, so several members of the team have already returned to Spain. But the ones that we remain continue working and hard.
The heat does not cease, it seems that the summer refuses to go away from Waset. On one hand this is good as the news we have are that in Madrid the temperature is of 4 degrees. When we are told this, certain pleasure crosses our body and we prefer the heat, but around one o’clock the truth is that a little fresh wind would not be bad.
Victor continues inside the monument with his epigraphic work. The ceiling and its variations of colour of the stone are giving him some headache when setting up the photogrammetry and due to this fact his work is slow but very thorough.
Outside we continue with our work in the area of the slope next to the house. We have determined to protect this area of the slope of a possible landslide, and for this we have begun to work the area in terraces. This work is very hard as we are going to have to move many m3 of earth. We have to sift all as amongst the remains several ceramic fragments come out.
Today several members of the Association Iteru with whom we shared some marvellous conferences in Novelda a week before coming here to begin this V Campaign have come to visit us.
Another of the visits that we have received today has been that of members of the Association of Egyptology of Grenoble (France). The monument and the work that have carried out in it have fascinated them.
At the end of the morning a magnificent calcite remain of approximately some 50 cm. has came out (unfortunately just fragments) with a very interesting hieroglyphic in bas-relief, where it can be perfectly read nb (f)m ib f.
Diary - part XIV
17th November. After our deserved rest of Friday, today Saturday we return to work.
The day raised a bit cooler than in the previous mornings. A smooth fog, typical of the winter, covered the fields dyed of green and black, ¡the colours of the regeneration!. And the fact is that this blessed land has changed little in the last 5000 years.
As all the mornings our workers were expecting us. With their Sabaj ala her, smiling and fond of singing, the day begins with the same ritual as always, descent to the site, opening of the chamber, lighting and verification of electric system. ....
The mudir Francisco confirms with each one of us the works that are going to develop. And we begin...
Today Juan, Luis, Yago, Victor and Teresa have gone to the chapel of Hathor. The technical team, to check a series of points and to verify other. Victor and Teresa to each take photos of the inside of the chapel of the goddess, where our Senenmut appears knelt in apparent action of adoration to his goddess Hatshepsut.
The inside of the chapel of Hathor is always shocking. If you visit it for the first time its magnificent colours powerfully attracts your attention, if it is not the first time... it does not matter, because it continues shocking you. Here Sekhmet welcomes the kind-hearted. A huge door decorated with pennants and standards with the head of Hathor leads to a chapel with relieves of the goddess cow in her processional boat. To the right and the left two small chapels that should each contain statues possibly of Tuthmosis I and perhaps of the own Hatshepsut. This chapel leads to Sanctum, the most sacred part of this sanctuary. The vaulted ceiling stands out, painted in blue with red stars. The walls decorated with painted relieves of Tuthmosis I and of the own Hatshepsut. At the back, three paintings attract our curiosity, Amun, Hatshepsut and the goddess Hathor. To the right and the left of this chapel, two smaller ones are opened, where Senenmut appears knelt giving worship to his lady.
The labourers have finished the building of the descent wall that joins the outside platform with our monument.
At the end of the morning we have had the visit of the members of the Hungarian Mission that are excavating and documenting a nearby tomb in Abd el Gurna, the number 65. Dr. Thomas Basc with seven other members of the team they have shown themselves very interested in the works that we have already carried out and have praised the responsibility of our architects for the use of simple materials such as wood, stone and earth in the outside of the zone to contaminate as little as possible this magnificent archaeological area as well as in the inside, for the lighting with azure and cold light of all the descending corridor, that gives a touch of mystery, trying to imitate the light that the ancient labourers of the necropolis should have when they excavated the tunnel or when they worked in the magnificent bas-reliefs and paintings of its famous ceiling.
Several questions that this magnificent chamber causes to every visitor have followed to the explanations of the Director of our Mission, Dr. Francisco Martin.
At night, after having dinner, we crossed the river to hear the excellent conference that took place in the Museum of the Mummification given by Dr. Ryan on the KV60 and the identification of the two women that appeared in it. With some magnificent photos Dr. Ryan of the Lutheran University of the Pacific, showed us the face of Sat-Ra, the one that was the nursemaid of Hatshepsut and another woman identified as Hatshepsut herself. Dr. Ryan told us that following the steps of another Egyptologist Dr. Thomas, that already in 1966 proposed that this second woman was Hatshepsut, he cleaned again the KV 60 and amongst the thousands of fragments of wood that found he finally could recompose a wooden mask to which the gold that once covered it had been removed. Once said mask had been restored the fine characteristics of this queen arose. The mask besides revealed, that it had carried a false beard. Ryan also located the beard: for him and his team the finding left no doubts: it would only be the queen Hatshepsut. In its moment his conclusions were published although a few more years have been necessary so that the world was informed that Hatshepsut was again among us.
Diary - part XIII
15th November. Today it has been a special day. The architects have begun the outside works of data taking from the TT 353 towards the Chapel of Hathor, in the temple of Hatshepsut. Seeking the place where to set the total station has taken good part of the morning. The works inside the chapel especially open for us for the occasion by the Sheij Mahmud Hassan, have been left unfinished. On Saturday they will continue.
Teresa, Francisco and Victor have used the day, once the doubtful hieratic graphite of chamber A have been ruled out in the work notebooks, to document all and each of the not doubtful, photographing and drawing the texts in which they were recorded to locate them with full security in each one of the places that correspond them in the columns of hieroglyphics. The reading of those of the east half of the south wall has been especially interesting. We have identified the figure 'day 29' instead of 'day 19' that up to now was given as correct.
At the end of the morning we have had the pleasure to receive Dr. Raymond W. Johnson and Margaret Fisher of the Chicago House in our monument. The two of them have visited the hypogeum with Dr. Martin Valentin and they have been exchanging opinions regarding the nature of the TT 353, in sight of the epigraphic data and other details of the relieves and of the texts. At present, Dr. Johnson is one of the greater experts in epigraphy of the New Empire. His works in front of the Epigraphic Survey developed at present in the small temple of Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III, in the precinct of the Temple of Medinet Habu have driven him to come to contrast certain opinions. The encounter has been especially interesting since that the period of Amenhotep III is shared in the studies of both Egyptologists. Dr. Martin Valentin and Dr. Johnson have agreed on meeting themselves more slowly for 'to talk' of their specialty, perhaps in the Library of the Chicago House.
Today, payday for the labourers has been especially gratifying...
Diary - part XII
14th November. The works of all the team spread in the different sectors of the site give the impression of a perfectly greased machinery acting with efficiency.
In last night’s business meeting, it was agreed that Tito would be entrusted in giving the consolidating treatment, based on silicate of ethyl, to the stucco work and painted facings of outside south wall of the entrance to the house. Basically a more solid adhesion of the plaster on the stone will be obtained and once this consolidating has been applied, it will be subjected to successive revisions and dryings until obtaining the desired hardening.
This remain existing in the walls of the dwelling has the enough dimensions to propose the original situation of the outside covering of the walls in all the building. We count on the great luck that the outside plaster has been preserved, which could have been painted in white colour as there exists a tiny remain that thus indicates it.
In the section of photographic data collection work Victor has devoted the morning to take new photogrammetric samples of certain parts of the astronomical ceiling especially where the surface shows irregularities in work of the stone.
In turn the architects have carried out the last adjustments in the inside light system. In this way the perfect adjustment of the sensors of temperature and movement that automatically activate the lighting of the most important elements of the hypogeum has been obtained.
Teresa continues examining in detail the remains that keep appearing as a result of the excavations that are still being carried out around the house and in the sides of the ramp descent towards the entrance to the hypogeum. Again fragments of finger ceramics and those of other topologies already familiar in our site arise.
Francisco Martin has begun a new phase in the epigraphic study of the walls of the chamber, consisting of the exam of all the ink marks existing in it in order to reject apparent graphite half erased that in reality could be remains of scribe marks of the design of the texts, before being carved in the stone. Besides he continues with the exam of the texts columns of the east half of the north wall of chamber A.
Diary - part XI
13th November. Our architect Luis Abad has been incorporated today for the first time to the works of this campaign of the year 2007.
With his presence all the works of repair and perfecting of the sophisticated lighting media used in our monument will be concluded.
The excavations are providing interesting ceramic remains, some with decoration in black painting. In the south wall of the house, next to the entrance, a great rock in which the construction of the house was originally supported has been investigated.
We have excavated under its lower part with the intention of verifying if it had carved shape in said surface. We have not been able to confirm such possibility. In return we have found curious remains of some English newspaper of the thirties and other remains of the twenties elite tourism. The mythical name of 'Old Winter Palace of Luxor' was also found printed on remains of tracing paper. In this way, few centimetres of sand separated us of some dates of eighty years ago.
Diary - part X
12th November. Today we have begun to protect the pavements of the two rooms of the house with geotextile material, for later covering them with tafla sand (the same one that originally covered the floor) although to differentiate the place where we have worked, it has been used refined sand coming from the sieving of materials in search of archaeological remains. We have set several of the labourers to work in the entrance ramp that was opened last year from the road to the level of the Temple of Hatshepsut. We will try to expand it something and to reinforce its boundary with the slope to assure its continuance and stability.
Francisco Martin continues translating texts and confirming on the wall the doubtful signs. The small gaps in some places where the hieroglyphics have disappeared, stir up doubts that will be clarified from other known parallel texts.
As far as the astronomical ceiling is concerned, we are beginning to gather the existence of a rhythm of five months between each one of the dates indicated by Christian Leitz.
Today’s cabinet works include the drawings that Tito is carrying out of the walls and of the whole of the house.
Diary - part IX
11th November. Today the valley brings us the gift of the sweet northerly wind. The high temperatures that have accompanied us have begun to descend, making our work in the site more bearable.
The works of excavation inside the house have continued. We have discovered the circular wall. Teresa has gone to see the remains of the Temple of the Valley of Hatshepsut.
In the meantime, Victor has begun his more delicate work: to photograph the ceiling of chamber 'A'. Its apparent smooth surface has presented a series of technical problems that have had to be resolved. The ceiling was not as smooth as it was thought to be. The light inside the chamber gives false impressions, because it is clearly irregular.
Today we have proceeded to read the data of humidity and temperature collected by the data processing readers placed in the different chambers of the hypogeum. With these precisions we will be able to conclude the process of study of the effects of the flood of the ceiling in its northeastern angle, occurred in year 2003. All seems to indicate that the stone has been stabilized and the saline outcroppings have sensitively gone into remission.
In the meantime, Juan and Tito have proceeded to take altitudes and measurements of the walls of the house to overturn them in the corresponding plan. Two window holes have been observed in the north and east walls of the building. These data allows us to present new foci on the possible original functionalities of the house in which we are working.
Diary - part VIII
10th November. Today we have had the visit of the General Manger of the western bank, Mr. Ali El Asfar.
Mr. Ali has congratulated our Director for the way of organizing the excavation works. Tito and Teresa have received the part of 'glory' that corresponded to them.
Our geologist engineer, Dr. Ayman Hamed has also made his annual visit to the state of the monument, taking advantage of its current work inside the Tomb of Horemheb, in the Valley of the Kings.
They have maintained a meeting with the Director of the Project, Dr. Martin Valentin, to discuss certain extremes of the works to carry out this year and, especially, to begin to present the start of its second part, for the next year’s campaign.
The house continues occupying great part of our works.
Yesterday (Friday), in our day off we went to Deir el Medina as we believe that the constructive moment of our house and the houses of the labourers of Deir el Medina could be contemporary. We are considering if the entire house was of stone or if parts of the facings were of adobe. We will study this possibility.
At night, the boys that work with us have challenged Tito and Victor to play a football match. Naturally, they have accepted and two strange football teams have been formed with five players and a goalkeeper each one of them. Hamdi, Ahmed and Mamad have played with Tito. The rest were all Egyptians.
The final result has been 6 to 5, in favour of the Spanish team. (Our Inspector has played with the opponents).
Diary - part VII
8th November. We continue excavating the house that unfortunately has suffered a lot since the epoch of Winlock, given the advanced state of deterioration of its walls.
We comment the possibility that the north part, where the pseudo apse is found, could have had a purpose of deposit. This possibility has been rejected immediately, given that we are not in presence of a closed circular precinct, but of a structure that configures the access to the inside in the shape of entrance.
The check-up of the wiring inside the monument, in charge of Yago Martin Orte, has begun.
All the connections of the luminous beacons of the ramp installed in the corridor of access to the chamber 'A' have been verified. Everything works perfectly. In the chamber of the astronomical ceiling the background cold lighting foci that remained without finishing in the last campaign have been installed again.
Francisco continues with Victor in the chamber. The first one continues verifying the lacks of text in the walls of the room, while the second completes his photogrammetric works of the decorated facings.
At the end of the days we see the arrival of Friday, festive and rest day, with greatest pleasure. We will take advantage of to visit some monuments in the western bank.
Among the visits that we have received we find Suzanne Edison of Florida and Mme. Danielle D' Esterac, restorer of the Ramesseum, for already various years.
We have visited chamber 'A' and commented its most notable characteristics.
Diary - part VI
7th November. The day has begun with an abnormal heat for the month in which we are. The distribution of work among the teams has begun before the masses of tourists arrive. Tito, Teresa, Juan and Yago have thrown themselves into the continuation of the works of excavation in the house. Each of the steps to be given is decided and they get to work.
The consideration of the functionality of our house continues being preferential object of the cabinet works. The possibility of some coincidental find that would allow us to propose a dating excites us.
We already had the opinions of Winlock and Dorman in this respect. But nothing of what up to now has been said turns out to be definitive neither illuminating. We are only having the security that we are talking about an auxiliary construction for the service of the area in Deir El Bahari. Whether it was for the use of priests, labourers or guards, we are talking about a provisional lodging building as those of the labourers of Deir el Medina on the road towards the Valley of the Kings or that of Queens.
There exist certain possibilities that it has even been used in Coptic epoch, but this idea should wait for the excavation of the remains of the pseudo-apse that shows the building in its south facade.
Francisco and Teresa have visited the colleagues in the zone, the Hungarian mission that works under the direction of the Dr. Thomas Basc, in the TT 65 of Nebamun, of the time of Hatshepsut, reused by Imiseba, in Gurnah and another neighbouring tomb, without numbering, discovered after knocking down the houses of the inhabitants of the necropolis. It belongs to someone called Najt of the XVIII dynasty, reign of Tuthmosis III and the works are in charge of the Service under the direction of Mr. Omar Abu Seid.
Diary - part V
Today we have continued the works of excavation of the house. In the outside part of the south and east walls we have found the evidence of a platform of bastard mortar that serves as foundations for the construction of all the structure.
Inside we have proceeded to withdraw sand and remains until reaching the level of the pavement, apparently executed with lime, sand and stones of small dimensions.
The labourers work slowly, with extreme care. Few centimetres before reaching the original pavement, easily distinguishable by its whitish colour, the workers leave their palettes and begin to clean with brushes with extreme attention.
The work goes on slow but sure. The level elevation taking has completed the work of the documentation pertaining to the walls. It is amazing the solidity of the construction, in spite of the millenniums that separate us of the moment in which the building was raised.
Today, Francisco has dedicated great part of the morning to carry out administrative formalities and that of relations with the uppermost responsible of the zone.
In this way, the works of verification of the texts should wait to be continued tomorrow.
In the photography area Victor continues his works inside the hypogeum.
Diary - part IV
Today, Monday 5th November we have begun the works in the site. The election of all the material that we must transport to the hypogeum has taken us all yesterday’s afternoon. Our labourers were expecting us in Deir el Bahari, next to the entrance, in front of the tomb of Montu-em-Hat. The majority old and friend faces: Hamdi, Hassan, Mahmud el Mulah, Ahmed, Osman and many other new ones. All of them have expressed their happiness to be again with us, and we have made them know ours for counting again on them. It is exciting to verify how they have progressed in their private lives since last year. Hamdi has already obtained his Polish tongue tourist guide title, but prefers to be with us this year. Hassan, will finish his studies of Economics this year. Mamad el Mulah is getting initiated in the business of Internet with his brother. The small Ahmed is no longer so small and has gone to live to New Gurnah, after his centennial house has been knocked down as so many others in the hill of Sheij Abd el Gurnah. They have understood the importance of their work in the project and will work as a single man so that everything is perfect.
The deployment of the labourers and the first instructions to establish the areas of work of the two teams that, in principle, are going to act, have occupied little more than one hour. Amr, the inspector, Teresa, Tito, Victor and our Director, Francisco, we all agree.
The first task has consisted in the demarcation of the area of archaeological action of this year: the remains of the existing house in the western part of the cornice, next to the bank of material very close to the terrace, in front of the temple. We are talking about a building built with rough masonry and mortar with an interesting plant distributed in the entrance and three large rooms. It was discovered by Winlock in the same season of the discovery of the TT 353 and its use has not been clarified up to now.
We will reach the natural level, we will consolidate those damaged parts with danger of imminent collapse and, finally, we will proceed to its photographic documentation and by archaeological drawing.
This year we should conclude the excavation, consolidation and restoration of the house, perhaps of Ramesid epoch in sight of the type of blocks used in its construction and of the mortar employed. There are remains of whitewashing in clay and stuccowork in white colour.
Tito has proceeded to fix with cotton gauze and paraloid the fragments that remain fixed to the wall, to avoid that they are damaged while the labourers excavate under our attentively looks and instructions.
Another part of the team has entered the hypogeum to install all the necessary apparatuses for complete the photogrammetry, what will be undertaken in the next days.
Shortly after the 'fatur' (breakfast) the General Director of the West Bank Mr. Ali el Asfar and his 'staff' has arrived to see our working plan. After explaining to him our plans, which he has accepted in their totality, he has suggested the possibility of continuing the excavation works to the western limit of the access to the area of our concession. The idea is to end all the excavation works in the plateau and to close, for its protection, the access to the unauthorized public.
The machinery has been set in motion and now we will not stop until the end of the campaign...
Diary - part III
Today we have left the house early. When arriving at the offices of the Service of Antiquities to pick up our Inspector we have realized that everyone was shaken: Zahi Hawass was about to arrive to carry out the inauguration of the new exhibition of the tomb of Tutankhamun; more exactly that of his mummy. A great expectation prevailed and everyone desired to be in the Valley of the Kings...
Everyone… except us.
We have headed to the store where the Service keeps all the findings of the missions that work here. They have enabled us to work a space near the garden where they have placed a table to deposit the objects that were going to be photographed and consolidated.
Teresa has begun by choosing the fragmented ceramic that had to be recomposed: gloves of latex, reversible adhesive, a lot of patience and more ability. Finally, a magnificent ceramic of great size with rich polycromy has left her hands, although we only have practically the half of the original one. In any case enough to propose its complete re-composition when documenting it.
Victor and Tito have been verifying with the lists of the inventory the location of the pieces inside our large chest. Also with the utmost care they have been choosing the ones that had to be photographed again. A well organized team work has permitted the execution of what it was planned with effectiveness and quickness: first the adobes with royal cartridge, later, the edges, necks, jug bellies and ceramic bases, all of them found in our site.
Four hours of dense work under the attentive look of our inspector. The heat was at its most intense when, at ten to twelve in our watches, all the guardians and the inspectors have gone away for the prayer. Certain air of unreality has invaded the atmosphere while we tasted a very hot mint tea to fight the high temperature that burdened us.
In the same patio, two members of the mission of Geoffrey T. Martin were also working with magnificent ceramic fragments of vessels with hieratic inscriptions, coming from the tomb of Horemheb, in the Valley of the Kings. We have chatted with them of our respective investigations and then, we have continued working each one in our tasks...
Towards one o’clock in the afternoon a great movement has taken place around us: Zahi Hawass has passed with his delegation on his way to the Valley of the Kings.
Today it is the 85th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter... it seemed that all stopped in the air, the life of the western bank has been paralyzed. It has been as if the time had backed out. The entire necropolis has cried for the young king.
Due to the event we have been obliged to finish earlier than expected, because everyone wanted to be near of the General Secretary of the SCA.
Tutankhamun has been exposed to the eyes of the curious...
We have returned home to continue our work in front of the computer, tomorrow will be another day.
Diary - part II
Yesterday it was Friday and we did not work as here it is the day off.
But today we have already returned to the routine. We have decided to carry out cabinet work to prepare that of tomorrow. As it is the custom, before undertaking the direct works in the site the documentation and photography work that remained pending since the previous campaign has to be finished.
Tito and Victor have been reviewing one by one all the pieces appeared during the excavations of the previous years to select those that should be photographed again.
They will document the pieces in situ, in our site in the Store of the Service of Antiquities, in the western bank.
Teresa will take the opportunity to verify the state of some pieces and to complete the consolidation and necessary restorations, in the case of the most fragile. In spite of it, Teresa should return in some days to the Store to verify the result of her works and to continue with them in case it is necessary.
In between the most delicate and important pieces with which Teresa should work we find out some adobes that have imprint with the cartridges of Amenhotep I and his mother, the queen Ahmose Nefertary. Being crude bricks made of clay mixed with straw and dried originally in the sun, they require a solid consolidation work that guarantees that they will not lose matter, becoming if that is the case in pure slime that, certainly, knew the Nile during the flooding of the reigns of those two important sovereigns of the XVIII Dynasty.
For all these reasons Teresa should maximize her careful work with these magnificent pieces.
In turn, Francisco Martin Valentín will take care of supervising and coordinating all our works, requesting the mandatory authorization so that the stores are opened for us and to take the opportunity to inspect that everything is in order. As we have to make the best use of our time as possible, we will try to carry out these works in just one day, going all the team to the store to help us each other when necessary.
As usually there is work to do when we carry out cabinet sessions as the one we are talking about, Francisco Martin Valentín has taken the opportunity to, from the photographic documentation, verify certain epigraphic details of the existing inscriptions in the north-eastern wall of chamber A, next to the access door from the corridor, where hieroglyphic signs lack in columns 13 to 21. We are talking about interesting versions of fragments of the invocations numbers 69, 72, 73 and 74 A of the Texts of the Sarcophagi (better called Coffins). When we descend to the hypogeum next Monday, he should verify all his observations with the original inscriptions and complete this part of the same ones to propose the most adequate translation, in sight of the existing textual gaps.
Diary - part I
Today it is our first day of this V Campaign of the Sen en Mut Project. After two days presenting the pertinent permissions to the Service of Antiquities, police, etc..., today we have set foot again in Deir el Bahari and the TT 353 of Sen en Mut to begin to develop our works.
Today we have known that who will be our Inspector during the time that our campaign lasts. Amra Abu el Safa has studied Egyptology and now is beginning to prepare his doctorate on false door steles.
As if he was the Vizier of the Upper Egypt, Inspector Amra and Francisco Martin Valentín have broken the seal of the door of the TT 353, the monument has been inspected and the conformity has been signed that it is just as it was left in the 2006 campaign.
In the meantime Victor, Francisco Vivas and Teresa, have inspected the upper terrace to see how the wall and the cables have supported to this year. We observe that there is a lot of trash left by the tourists that visit the coffee bar but apart from this, the wall is in perfect conditions.
Good news about the coffee bar:: as Mr. Ali, director of the Service of Antiquities of the West Bank, has informed us, in the next months the coffee bar that has been object of our vigilance is going to be removed from the zone, as well as the old coffee bar of Tomas Cook (that it is already being demolished), and the stores of the entrance of the parking that will be transferred out of the archaeological precinct of Deir the Bahari.
Other Campaigns
