Today, 20 December, the 6th campaign of the Middle Kingdom Theban Project comes to an end. After 50 days of work, the gates of Ipi, Henenu, Dagi and E1 are closed until 2022.

This morning we returned to the site to collect the last tools, remove the tents and make the last payments. The conservation team also took the opportunity to go to Dagi’s tomb to make sure that the data logger they have installed is working properly.

Iria and Bea finished making a list of the most special objects stored in Ipi’s chest and in Henenu’s tomb. A copy of this list will remain inside the chest, while another copy has been given to our inspector Mohamed.

After the final signatures and handshakes between Antonio and Rais Ali, the tombs have been definitively closed until the next campaign which, we hope, will be this time next year.

It has been a campaign full of emotions, discoveries, new friendships and, above all, a lot of work. We have discovered a floral offering in what seems to be a new tomb in the courtyard of Ipi; we have finished the excavation of the shafts in the tomb of Henenu and begun excavation of the courtyard; we have found a descending corridor in tomb E1 and we have carried out hundreds of analyses on mummies, textiles and ceramics. All this without forgetting the dozens of conservation and restoration treatments that have been carried out in all the complexes.

Organising an archaeological campaign in another country in the middle of a pandemic has not been easy, but thanks to the efforts of all the members of the MKTP and the support of the different institutions that back us, it has been possible. We now have a year of study ahead of us from our offices and preparation for the next season.

We hope you have enjoyed reading our daily life from the Theban mountain, we assure you that we have enjoyed sharing all our adventures, and hope to see you again in 2022!