These were checked to ensure all columns of the text could be identified with certainty, then the piece was recorded, numbered, assigned to the correct columns, traced, photographed and boxed with its fellow column fragments. While this construction work was going on, Annie and Francesca retreated to the comparatively quiet tomb of Karabasken for a few days, where Ken Griffin had left boxes of fragments that could possibly be from Chapter 17. All this took much longer than had been anticipated, but nevertheless progress was made in adding 6 fragments to the first 18 columns out of the total of 112. ![]() “Pockets” for the original fragments were carved into this casing stone, the fragments were inserted into the “pockets” and supported with lime plaster. In fact, the back of the limestone was so fragmented, Shebib and Ahmed had to put in long steel retaining bolts, epoxied into place, and then cover with a fresh face of new limestone. The poor state of the limestone in this area explained why so much of the surface text had broken away from the wall in small pieces. To fix one of the largest pieces (carved with hieroglyphs from columns 11-15) – which could then be used to place adjacent fragments – the conservators needed to consolidate the wall. The conservators were very careful that we all agreed with the positioning. It involved calculations down to the last half centimetre. This is essential work – largely carried out by Annie as fragments sometimes ‘float’ in a column with no adjacent wall text to assist with the exact location. The main challenge was in taking detailed measurements of the hieroglyphs and spaces between them in each column to determine the exact placing of each fragment. The preliminary reconstruction is based on the Lepsius version and other sources correlated with the remains of the text in situ. Annie Photoshopped the photos of the original fragments into the suggested reconstruction. The work involved retrieving the fragments which had been boxed in column order the previous year, and checking them against our digital reconstruction typed in JSesh. This was an exciting season for us, as work started with conservators Mohamed Shebib and Ahmed Hamdan to restore the south wall of the First Pillared Hall of Karakhamun, which had once held Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. This early start was essential to cope with the summer temperatures, rising to 46° in the week prior to our arrival and due to rise to this again during our stay. Then work started in earnest with a 3:45 am alarm call to be on site by 5:00 am for a seven hour working day. Their arrival coincided with the Eid Holiday, so the first few days were pleasantly spent settling into a shared flat with the team’s Marion Brew, and going out for dinner with other colleagues while acclimatizing to the temperature change from the UK. Part I: Reconstructing BD 17 in the tomb of Kharakhamun (TT 223)Īnnie Haward and Francesca Jones returned for another 4-week season at South Asasif on the 3 rd of June. ![]() Today you will hear from the leaders of two of these endeavors, Annie Haward, Franseca Jones and Taylor Bryanne Woodcock. ![]() The South Asasif Conservation Project has developed numerous projects within the Project.
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