Image: Patricia Mora Photography
Today our colleague Daniel Sánchez Mata, Professor of Botany at the Complutense University of Madrid and Associate Professor at Harvard University, joined the team. Daniel has arrived to spend a few days studying the plant remains unearthed during previous seasons. Two of the most remarkable finds were a bouquet of flowers and several garlands crafted with extraordinary care, discovered at the entrance of one of the subsidiary tombs in the complex of the vizier Ipi (TT 315). Through the study, documentation, and eventual publication of these findings, we hope to incorporate valuable botanical information into our understanding of Egyptian funerary rituals.
Meanwhile, inside Ipi’s burial chamber, there is a level of rapport between Miguel and the workers that we have rarely seen. Our stone expert is thoroughly enjoying the study of the sarcophagus and carefully determining the most appropriate sequence for dismantling it piece by piece, while the workers give their very best during moments of greatest effort and difficulty. Without a doubt, we are working with a team of highly experienced laborers, passionate about their craft and skilled in the techniques required to move heavy stone blocks.
One of the pieces removed today was a 650 kg block from the southeast corner of the sarcophagus—that is, from part of the foot end and the front. It also extended down toward the sarcophagus floor, meaning that the fragment dismantled today includes portions of all three of these sections.
At the Djari complex, the conservation team devoted the morning to organizing their tasks individually and tackling several objectives simultaneously. While Reed and Sameh applied a structural mortar to one of the walls with the most deterioration, Jaume and Ella continued injecting the mortar that will act as a consolidant in areas where material has been lost and cavities remain; and Arantxa carried on with the restoration of the large fragments of fallen mortar that were collected during previous seasons.
