The end of the season is coming, and it was still necessary for the team of experts on landscape archaeology to take some points in far away areas of Luxor. For this reason, we requested a special permission to the Ministry of Antiquities to go up to one of the highest points in the area, the Hill of Thoth, also known as the “Crown of Thebes”. Thus, we could take some important points for our Digital Elevation Model and, at the same time, visit one of the most exceptional and inaccessible places of the Theban landscape during the Middle Kingdom.

In this hill, it seems that Mentuhotep III Sankhare sanctioned to build a temple, whose function has been interpreted by some as a place of celebration of the festival Sed (Petrie) and by other as a cultic place for the falcon form of the Theban god Montu (Vörös). Unfortunately, a visit to this place required to begin the climbing before even the time we used to work everyday and, for this reason, the group of people leaving to the Thoth Hill was limited to six members of the teams, three inspectors, and a good worker and loyal collegue of us. It took us around two hours to go up in the area, with some complicated cliffs, but the exceptionality of the structure, the landscape one could enjoy from this position, and the project interest on its function made it really worthy to come up to there.

On the other hand, some other members decided to get a break, relax from the efforts of the last days of the season, and help to organize the storage of the project. As every year, the arrangement and organization of the storage allows us to know about the tools, devices, and items used and remaining in Luxor, which eases the purchases and adquisition of new materials for the coming season. In addition, most of the members working on the organization of the storage could relax from the birthday party for Jaume, which we organized in the King’s Head Pub, where some members decided to stay longer than others.

Today has been for most of our team members the final day of the season. With the exception of Raúl, José Alba and Antonio, the rest of the team members will fly tomorrow Sunday in the morning to their destinations where they will be able to organize their notes, files, and materials to continue with their investigations for the Middle Kingdom Theban Project. For this reason, today has been a day of farewells, closing of cleaning sectors, and completion of inventaries, lists, analyses, and works. In fact, one of the first tasks conducted in the day has been the wrapping up and cleaning of the rooms used at the Davies House, where we have been working for the last two weeks, mainly in terms of restoration, inventary, and photography.

It is for this reason that in the tomb of Djari as well as in the monument of Dagi most of our work has been limited to closing the major fronts, register the findings, and organize the photography, drawings, and documentation of the objects of the major sectors in the concession. The shaft located in the transversal corridor of Djari’s tomb, as well as the subsidiary structured in the southern side of its courtyard –that now will also function as storage– have been completed, documented, and closed. None will get access to these two structures until next season in late 2023.

Regarding Dagi’s tomb, not only the large findings such as fragments of stone reliefs, but also the small and fragile fragments of wall paintings have received all our attention, being registered into our inventary for future study and analyses. In the tomb of Ipi, Elsa has completed the last examination of textiles while the selections of materials to be delivered to the Carter Magazine were also culminated. Regarding the conservation team, our restorers have considered the most appropriate ways to cover the revealed painted walls of the last weeks until next season.

All in all, at the end of the day we have proceeded to close the week (even after the free day of Friday) and pay the workers, connecting it with the surprise of a small party for all with chicken shawarma sandwiches, cool sodas, cake, and much music, dancing, and laughs. The closing of the season –though José Alba, Raúl and the moudir Antonio will take care of some final deeds tomorrow Sunday– has not only meant an instant for farewells and melancholy, but has also implied a moment for the sincere appreciation of the efforts and dedication of all workers. In these hot days of May and through the complex economic and social difficulties of the moment, they have once more demonstrated a fantastic humor, great professionalism, and a strong will to transform a scientific initiative into an incredible vital experience.

Beyond the finalization tasks of closing, checking and safety that we will conduct tomorrow Sunday, today has been the last day of work, the day of payment to workers and inspectors and the best moment for hugs, for congratulating ourselves due to the good experience, and for wishing to see each other very soon… In sha’Allah!

After a few days excavating the shaft and taking out all kinds of objects from different periods of the Egyptian history, our colleague Abu Saidi has finally reached the bottom of the shaft, around 3 m below the level of the transversal corridor of Djari (TT 366). The arrival of the end of the season and the serious responsibility to document properly the structure has impeded us to continue with the cleaning of the funerary chamber at the bottom of the shaft, though the nature of the various findings discovered therein will allow us to study, analyze, and interpret the origin of the materials and the reasons for their location as part of the filling of the shaft. The photogrammetry and measurements conducted for the structure will allow us to document the discovery and consider new strategies of work for the coming season.

In the tomb of Dagi (TT 103) one can also feel that our work is coming to an end in this season. Raúl has been documenting and analyzing the information collected until now, which seems to indicate that there might have been two phases of Coptic occupation. In fact, the area of textile production in the transversal corridor between pillars 3 and 4 might have belonged to the inicial phase of occupation, just before the room experienced some modifications and came to be used as a modest hall of receptions for the attendance to the visitors of the monastery.

In the tomb of Ipi (TT 315), on the other hand, while Elsa has continued working with the vast amount of textiles coming from the deposit of mummification, Jaime and Carmen have completed the preparation of the final lists with the materials to be taken to the Carter Magazine and the Museum of Luxor. These lists and the items selected have been checked by Antonio before their packing and storage. The lists include some of the most interesting examples of findings from the mummification deposit as well as the most remarkable items from the previous six years of excavations in the complex of Ipi. 

The members of the conservation team that have not yet left Luxor –Olivia, Lily, and Jaume– have dedicated their day to treating the wooden fragments originating from the recently discovered shaft within Djari’s tomb. For this purpose –and with the permission of the Egyptian authorities– we have been able to use the house of the couple De Garis Davies, what has added some sentimental and anecdotal value to our work in the area where Nina and Norman worked so many years. The collection of materials treated by our restorers consists of objects spanning different periods of ancient pharaonic history and encompassing various typologies.

The primary challenge faced by the conservators was the significant moisture content present in the objects, requiring an urgent solution for their treatment before further study could commence. Olivia focused her efforts on consolidating the fragile pictorial layer of a small wooden piece featuring an individual, once a part of a model. Captivated by the object’s beauty, she drew upon her expertise and successfully conserved a portion of its original splendor. Meanwhile, Lily and Jaume worked on treating the objects to prevent biological deterioration and prepared temporary storage solutions to ensure their preservation in the best possible condition for future study seasons and subsequent treatments.

Our work in the courtyard of Djari’s tomb continues with much activity and many fronts. The team members appointed at this complex (José Alba and Laura) have tried to cover each of the tasks to be conducted today. Ana, one of our photographers, has also tried to speed up with the various assignments of the day. Our readers must consider that our two photographers covered with their cameras each of the multiple aspects and locations of the project: work, discussions, talks, discoveries, surprises, everyday moments… and these materials appear not only in the Digging Diary and our profile of Instagram, but also in official reports and later publications that obviously require mucho work and time by our snappers.

Without delay, Ana has been photographing the structure TT 366A, which has already been completely cleaned. Later, Jesús has prepared the total station in the same monument for preparing a detailed plan of it. At the same time, José and Laura have continued with the cleaning of the semi-circular installation found in the western side of pillar F and have supervised the work by Abu Saidi at the bottom of the shaft, where we continue cleaning the filling, not reaching (yet) the end of it. The funerary chamber, in any case, will be excavated in our next season in November.

In the tomb of Dagi, Raúl has completed cleaning the interesting area of the transversal corridor, between pillars 3 and 4. The area poses many readings and interpretations because of the accumulation of levels and reuses of the space, so Jesús has been working on the production of a photogrammetry that will contribute to a better understanding of the layers, units, and strata at this place. Besides, Raúl has requested to the conservators the fabrication of casts made with a craftman’s foot and his hands, which appeared in this production area. The test with the craftman’s hands has not been conducted, but our conservadors tried the one with the foot, which we hope will offer some new information about this interesting area. In addition, our photographer Patricia has continued getting images of the objects from Dagi in her photo lab, which we improvised in “the hall of St Epiphanius” (i.e., the cultic chapel of the vizier Dagi).

Regarding the conservation team, in the morning, Lily and Jaume embarked on an endeavor to investigate an enigmatic and unidentified surface discovered within the excavation area overseen by Raul, defined by the presence of remains of mortar preparation for mural paintings. Upon initial inspection, the surface appeared to contain what resembled a footprint, possibly left behind by skilled artisans engaged in the ancient craft of mortar preparation. The conservators meticulously crafted a mold to facilitate a more comprehensive analysis of this unfamiliar surface. Unfortunately, further examinations are required before reaching a definitive conclusion regarding its true nature as a footprint. Subsequently, the conservators, accompanied by their fellow team members, explored the Middle Kingdom tomb of Intef following their break. While the group immersed themselves in the captivating historical explanations of the paintings provided by the knowledgeable mudir, they also took the opportunity to assess the artwork from a conservation and technical perspective. The conservators obtained firsthand insights into the methods employed during the recent on-site restoration of the mural paintings and closely examined their technical aspects. The preparatory layers bore resemblance to those found in the tombs of Dagi and Djari. However, the key distinction between the tomb of Intef and those of Dagi and Djari lay in the superior quality of the stone utilized as the paintings’ support in the former, which significantly contributed to the better preservation of the artworks. Following the fruitful visit, the conservators resumed their study of fragments originating from Dagi, employing the Dinolite to corroborate some of the previous hypotheses formulated the day before concerning the pigments employed for various colors.

Among other surprises, this year the cleaning of the courtyard in TT 366 has revealed the existence of a subsidiary structure, surely built for a dependent of Djari, and a shaft –with diverse materials dating from Dynasty XI to the Byzantine times– that was located in the northern side of the transversal corridor in the monument. These novelties require from our team members a deep analysis, at times very hard physical work (in this case, mainly by our workers), and strict supervision.

However, they also require a clinical eye, a good hand with the objects, and much care with the selection of the materials. This was our case today with the tasks conducted by our workers cleaning the subsidiary tomb TT 366A and the sieving of the entire remains coming from this structure. The same duty has been conducted in the case of the cleaningof an exceptional structure made of mudbricks and attached to pilar F (already observed by Winlock and included in the plan generated after his excavations), which we believe that might be –as it happens with its counterpart in the other side of the main entrance into the tomb– some kind of installation for a tree (acacia, sycamore). This interpretation would pose the possibility that two plants decorated the main entrance into the tomb just in front of the funerary garden (structure that we hope to clean in the near future).

In both cases (TT 366A and the installation of pilar F), sieving allows the collecting of critical and often small materials such as sealings, coffin fragments, seeds, bones and fruits, a kind of evidence critical for our documentation of Djari.

On the other hand, in the tomb of Dagi (TT 103) archaeologists have continued with the cleaning of the transversal corridor area where –according to the initial excavators Winlock and Crum– there was a reception room for the monastery of St. Epiphanius and, previously, a textile production area might have existed. Obviously, as we explained yesterday, the accummulation of layers of occupation allows us not only to evidence the reuse of the place over the centuries but also to identify the minor changes produced in a monument, room or area within the same period. Aside of this work, the archaeology team at Dagi has been “shooting points” to continue with the documentation of the various units, contexts, and strata so that we can proceed at the end of the fieldwork with our investigations on the uses and reuses of this section of the monument.

Our conservators Ella, Jaume, and Lily embarked on a technical analysis of the paintings preserved in the tomb, as well as some of the fragments, using a Dinolite. The examination with this device offers variable magnification ranging from 20 to 250x, depending on the working distance. This range is achieved by a simple rotation of a dial, allowing for zooming in or out. This feature facilitates a detailed examination of the surfaces, including the preparation layers and pigments. Particularly fascinating were the mixtures of different pigments employed by ancient craftspeople to achieve specific colors. The results obtained from this analysis will provide valuable insights into the mural techniques employed during the Middle Kingdom. In the future, these findings will enable the team to compare the results with similar analyses conducted in the tomb of Dagi, and eventually, other Middle Kingdom tombs in the area. Consequently, a greater understanding of the techniques employed during that period, which still remains a mystery, will become more comprehensible.

The study of the material culture allows us to identify categories, types, fabrics, modes of production and even uses and reuses of the objects in the everyday life as well as in the funerary domain. Besides, some critical information that can be obtained in occassions –and this is what really interests at first to the archaeologists– is the date or period of the object, which allows the specialist to contextualize an entire area, section or stratigraphic unit.

Through the cleaning of the shaft –already disturbed– in the transversal corridor of Djari’s tomb, we have recovered many objects to which we have applied the very same aforementioned rules (of interest): analysis of the types or categories, fabrics, modes of production, uses and reuses, as well as dating. For better or worse (here in the team everyone has an opinion in this respect!), our shaft was previously filled with remains of a completely different nature: model jars and fragments of model boats of the First Intermediate Period appear in contact with blue-painted ceramics and funerary cones of the New Kingdom, fragments of granite statues, remains of Late Period coffins, and Coptic as well as Bizantine ceramics. A good example of the diversity of materials is the collection of funerary cones of an individual called Iah-mes (Ahmose) found near a miniature offering tray of the First Intermediate Period. No doubt, the life of a funerary complex like this, situated in the center of Asasif among the tombs of Montuemhat (TT 34), Pedamenopet (TT 33), Pabasa (TT 279), and Padihorresnet (TT 196), was much more active than one could imagine. In fact, this justified the “thousand and one layers” of reuse of the monument and the diverse material obtained from the shaft.

In the complex of Dagi, Raúl and Jaime have continued collecting information about the sector excavated in the transversal corridor in relation to pillars 3 and 4. In this area, the team members have discussed the evidence, which seems to indicate several layers of use from the Eleventh Dynasty to the Coptic period. The strata above gebel (i.e., bedrock) show a sequence that expands from the preparation and plastering of the original floor for Dagi to the accumulation of debris and later preparation of –at least– two floors as well as benches and walls related to the initial two phases of Coptic occupation. In addition, in this area our archaeologists have found a depression with two roundy hollows which might have been used for a large loom installed there before the construction of some steps, a little gate, and benches against the wall.

On the other hand, in the tomb of Ipi (TT 315), Carmen and Antonio have continued with the collection of inventory numbers and objects to be packed and delivered to the Carter Magazine and the Luxor Museum. We still count with the coming season of November 2023 for completing this task and fulfill the requirements of the Ministry of Antiquities. The selection of the most interesting wrappings, shrouds, bandages, natron bags, stoppers, and large jars is conducted considering the role of these objects in the exhibition we plan to organize at the Luxor Museum and the later delivery of these materials to the Mummification Museum of Luxor. 

Regarding our conservation work today, in the tomb of Dagi, Lily completed the assessment of the mural paintings preserved on-site. Meanwhile, Olivia and Ella performed urgent consolidation work on certain mural paintings surrounding the area being excavated by Raul. Finally, Jaume continued with the consolidation and storage tasks for several mural fragments originating from the tomb.

In the Spring of 1922, Herbert Winlock and the expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York found a subsidiary chamber in the funerary complex of Ipi. This structure was labelled MMA 516B because it was considered a construction for some dependent located in the main monument of the vizier, called MMA 516. The funerary equipment and burial found in the tomb belonged to an individual who had usurped the structure to use it as his eternal dwelling. The discovery of some papyri with personal letters and business notes belonging to a man called Heqanakhte seems to indicate that this was the original owner of the subsidiary construction MMA 516B.

Today, after the visit of the inspectors and managers of the Ministry of Antiquities, we have received the authorization to proceed and get access into this tomb. First, we removed the cement sealing of the upper part of the gate into the tomb; then, we initiate the cleaning of the inner rooms: a short corridor and a chamber with a rock-cut section for a coffin. As it happened with Ipi, the director of prisons Djari probably assigned the southern corner of his tomb for a dependent, who built a tomb that we have now labelled TT 366A and will proceed to document in the next days. Beyond the opening and work in this subsidiary structure, Jesús has worked on the preparation of plans for the chamber and the associated shaft in the transversal corridor of Djari, which he has completed with the total station. Afterwards, Abu Saidi has continued with the cleaning of the bottom of the shaft to complete this task in this season.

In the tomb of Dagi, our work continues at a good pace. Raúl completed the cleaning of the inner section of the transversal corridor, while Jaime made inventory of the multiple fragments of painting found in the last days. Once this was done, they continued with the cleaning of the area between pillars 3 and 4, where Crum and Winlock already determined that there might have been a loom in Coptic times. We hope that the study of the area will allow us to know more about the reuse of particular sections of the tomb of Dagi for specific purposes by the monks of St Epiphanius.

Regarding the conservation duties in the site, today the team started a new day without the contribution of our colleage Reed, who left together with Sergio this morning. As for the remaining members in-site, Lily and Olivia conducted a thorough condition assessment of the wall paintings in both the tombs of Djari and Dagi. They meticulously recorded various aspects such as cracks, abrasion, insect damage, and losses. This comprehensive assessment provides valuable insights into the state of preservation and serves as a guide for our conservation efforts.

Moreover, Ella and Jaume successfully completed the conservation work on the fragments they carefully lifted from the floor of Dagi’s tomb. Following this, they supervised the drying process for the polychrome wood discovered in Djari’s tomb shaft, ensuring protection against humidity-induced mold and biological deterioration. These critical tasks are instrumental in the safe handling and preservation of these fragile artifacts.