Getty Conservation Institute to Restore Tutankhamun's Tomb
By STAN PARCHIN
November 10, 2009
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| Egyptian, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (ca. 1336-1327 B.C.). Burial Chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun's Tomb (KV 62) (North Wall). Painted plaster. Valley of the Kings. Photograph provided by Flickr. |
The Getty Conservation Institute and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) announced today that they will collaborate on a five-year program to clean, conserve and manage the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (r. 1336-1327 B.C.) in the Valley of the Kings. The project involves the scientific analysis of the burial chamber's wall paintings and other tomb surfaces marred by disfiguring brown spots of an unknown nature and origin. Their presence was first noted by archaeologist Howard Carter and his team after he discovered the sepulcher in 1922.
Heat and humidity brought by visitors annually to the underground site accelerate the disintegration of its interior decoration.
The initial two-year phase of the project will involve: research and assessment of the four-room tomb, its sarcophagus and wall paintings; detailed analysis and diagnosis of the crypt's causes of deterioration; and devising a method of intervention. This will be followed by: conservation and documentation of the treatments; developing a program for the long-term monitoring of the tomb's condition as well as its maintenance, presentation, interpretation, visitation policies and other uses; and the project results' evaluation and dissemination. Work is expected to be completed in late 2013.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities has yet to determine how long Tutankhamun's tomb will be closed during its conservation.
For a related article on ancient Egyptian tomb conservation, click here.
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