This morning began with task distribution so we can make the most of every remaining moment until the end of the season. The conservation team stayed at the tomb of Djari, where they were joined by a new member: Ella Andrews. Ella had just arrived from the United States, but despite the jet lag and a full night of travel, she decided to jump in right away without taking time to rest, spending her first morning catching up alongside the rest of our conservation team: Arantxa, Jaume, Reed, and Sameh. Meanwhile, the rest of the team headed off to the tomb of Ipi, where it was essential to resume the demanding pace of dismantling the fragments that still need to be moved out into the corridor. It has been a tough day of restoration and conservation work at the tomb of Djari, and of transporting large blocks at Ipi’s monument, but there is always time for a smile and many questions to discuss at the end of the day before heading back to the hostel.

The team assigned to the tomb of Ipi kept a strong pace today, not only in removing the sarcophagus fragments that required the highest priority (due to their fracture, position, or condition) but also in cataloguing and photographing each of them. Most of the fragments transported out of the burial chamber were small or medium-sized, except for one of the blocks from the side of the canopic chest, which weighed around 500 kg. Miguel has been carefully selecting the fragments that needed to be taken out of the chamber, first using the winch to secure each piece and safely move it onto the platform in front of the ramp leading up to the main corridor of the tomb.

In this corridor, at the upper part of the tomb, Rebekah and Raúl continued working to complete the fragment map and the corresponding records, while Antonio helped with the photography. In the coming days, we will proceed to remove most of the fragments from the east side of the sarcophagus (“front”) and the three pieces still missing from the canopic chest (the east and north blocks, and the floor slab of the chest). The room now looks very different with the removal of the blocks that were lying on the chamber floor and those belonging to the foot end of the sarcophagus. Stored in the corridor, they now await the moment when we can complete the full dismantling so that one day they can undergo conservation and bring the inscriptions and iconography back to a better state.

Meanwhile, at the tomb of Djari, restoration work has continued with Ella’s incorporation. Together, the team focused on planning a broad treatment for the walls using the fill we began applying the previous day, allowing the most complex areas to be properly consolidated.