Project Director: Lyla Pinch-Brock

Project architect: Nicholas Warner

Project conservator: Ewa Parandowska

Project Photographers: Edwin C Brock & Francis Dzikowski

Historic Era: New Kingdom

Project Location: Luxor

Project duration: October 2002 – January 2003

Located on necropolis of the West Bank of Luxor, the tomb of Anen belonged to an ancient Egyptian priest who served under the reign of Amenhotep III. Over time, the tomb had deteriorated and the roof caved in, filling the tomb with rubble and subjecting the wall paintings to light, heat, and water damage, as well as looters. This project, sponsored by the Royal Ontario Museum, was to conserve and protect the tomb of Anen (TT120), as well as the paintings inside.

In addition to stabilizing and reinforcing the walls of the tomb, the conservators mechanically cleaned the reliefs with brushes and scalpels and repaired the mission sections through re-adhered fragments with special mortar. Paintings that had been damaged or removed were restored, mimicking an ancient painting technique where craftsmen sketched the relief images in red ink before filling them with color. The team also constructed a protective display box over the restored wall reliefs to protect them from human or environmental damage and built a series of low slanted walls along the top edges of the tomb to divert rainwater.

Statement of Responsibility:

The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) managed the implementation of the conservation of the tomb of Anen in the Theban Necropolis in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities). Lyla Pinch-Brock, co-director of the Royal Ontario Theban Tombs Project based in Toronto, Canada, served as director of the project, aided by conservator Ewa Paradonwska and architect Nicholas Warner. Photographs were taken by Edwin C. Brock and Francis Dzikowski.

Funding:

Conservation of the monument was funded through the American Research Center in Egypt's Egyptian Antiquities Project (ARCE-EAP) under United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grant No. 263-G-00-93-00089-00 (formerly 263-0000-G-00-308900).

See the Tomb of Anen on Google Maps here

Additional Resources:

• American Research center in Egypt: Conservation of the Tomb of Anen (TT120)
• ARCE Publications: Bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt, NUMBER 183- (Fall/Winter - 2002/2003)
• Brock, L. P. (1999). Jewels in the Gebel: A Preliminary Report on the Tomb of Anen. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 36, 71–85. https://doi.org/10.2307/40000203
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye Enthroned Beneath a Kiosk, Tomb of Anen

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