Project Director: James McLane

Historic Era: New Kingdom

Project Location: Luxor

Project Duration: 1998 - 1999

Project Description:

Between 1290 BCE and 1279 BCE, King Seti I ruled ancient Egypt. He was the second king of the 19th dynasty, ruling during the New Kingdom period. Upon his death, he was buried in a tomb located in the Theban Necropolis, Valley of the Kings (KV17). This tomb now remains as the largest known decorated tomb in the Theban Necropolis, boasting the best preservation and workmanship compared to his immediate successors. This was also the first tomb to be completely decorated in painted relief, every surface available being utilized. Unfortunately, Room B and the pillars in Room F received only preliminary work, the relief was outlined in red and corrected in black as the etching had only just begun before work was interrupted/ceased. The area of the tomb covered in mural decoration is an estimated 2000 square meters - the extensively detailed illustrations on the walls depict Seti’s identification with the sun god, Ra, his merging into the body of Osiris, and ultimately joining the imperishable stars depicted in the vault of the burial chamber. The illustrations on the walls also make this tomb the only surviving tomb containing the complete texts of the Books of the Underworld; the Litany of Ra, the Book of Gates, the Amduat/Imyduat, as well as the Litany of the Eye of Horus and the Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth. Though the tomb may be viewed contemporarily as going in towards the burial chamber, the ancient Egyptians conceptualized it as a passage out through the underworld and to the eternity of the afterlife. Divided into three main sections, the tomb’s illustrations symbolize “the three kingdoms of the Underworld and subsequent arising: the realm of Ra, the setting sun (from the entrance to chambers E and F), the kingdom of Osiris (from corridor G to burial chamber J with its four side rooms and the four-columned annex in the back) and the world of Nun, the primeval ocean (corridor Q descending towards the underground waters)” (Egyptological Study of the Tomb of Sety I, 1999).

This project was carried out to assess the tomb’s architecture and state of preservation and make informed, accurate recommendations for future conservation and preservation efforts. There were several phases to the project; photo documentation of existing conditions by Chip Vincent and Michael Jones; a 3-dimensional survey by James Mclane using Electronic Distance Measurement; a geotechnical and structural stability assessment by Jim McLane and Raphael Wust wherein every surface was examined and every fissure and crack mapped; an evaluation of the mural decoration led by Christina Vazio, documenting every decorated surface in detail as well as the deterioration over the previous 70 or so years, and they also conducted test cleanings on multiple designated sites; an egyptological study by Bojana Mosjov detailing and collating all published data on the tomb, on top of several museum visits by Michael Jones; a display and presentation plan by Shari Saunders who crafted a report containing recommendations for visitor quotas, access, walkways, and more. A mini prism was used for survey and was placed on every surface break within each chamber, allowing for accurate distance and area measurements. Every ceiling plane, wall plane, floor surface, lintel, soffit, shelf, and niche were recorded. Many of the treads were damaged when it came to stairs, so several points were surveyed at risers, and hand measurements for typical tread dimensions were taken. The top and bottom of each stair run was also defined. Tympanum walls were also thoroughly surveyed using a grid of points in order to record irregularities. Furthermore, small samples less than 5mm in size were taken from a number of sources so materials could be scientifically analyzed, and a correct diagnosis of decay could be made. There were trial conservation and cleaning tests carried out by Christina Vazio on select sites. The test cleaning was carried out in 1999, on 6 designated test-sites within the tomb:

1. Hall K, North-East Wall

2. Room N, First Pillar

3. Room N, Second Pillar

4. Room I, North-West Wall

5. Room I, North-West Wall

6. Room E, South-West Wall

Not all of the rooms were accessible, however; Rooms P and O were primarily debris and largely unnavigable.

A conservation project was seen as potentially dangerous to both workers and the tomb itself, especially as it could potentially compromise the stability of the tomb. It would have been much more invasive than a  documentation project such as this one. Another concern pertained to funding, as funding of the scale needed for such a project was huge and could be better allocated to several other, smaller projects instead. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that the level of funding required could be secured, so it was determined it would be better to split it into several smaller sub-projects and secure funding multiple times instead.

Glossary:

Lintel – Horizontal support of timber, stone, concrete, or steel across the top of a door or window.

Jamb – An upright piece or surface forming the side of an opening.

Tread – The horizontal part of a step in a staircase/set on which people step.

Riser – The space between a step and another on a staircase/set.

Scale – A photography tool used to set the correct exposure, contrast, and white balance while photographing or to make apparent the size of an object being photographed, depending on the type of scale it is.

Lacuna – A cavity or depression, sometimes caused by erosion or damage.

Ka – In ancient Egyptian mythology, the Ka was the spiritual part of a human or god, which survives after death and may reside in a statue of the individual.

Ra-Horakhty – A combined deity of Horus and Ra, usually depicted as a falcon-headed deity wearing a sun disk crown.

Book of Litany of Ra – An ancient Egyptian funerary text consisting of two parts. The first part contains seventy five invocations of Ra, while the second part is a series of prayers where the pharaoh assumes parts of nature and deities, primarily the sun god Ra.

Book of Gates – An ancient Egyptian text narrating the passage of a newly deceased soul into the next world.

Book of Amduat – An ancient Egyptian text telling the story of the sun god Ra’s daily journey through the netherworld, starting from sunset until sunrise. 

Litany of the Eye of Horus – An ancient Egyptian funerary text.

Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth – A ceremony performed on a corpse, denoting rebirth and new beginnings.

Funding Note:

The Tomb of Seti I Architectural Survey and Documentation project was made possible with funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grant No. 263-0225-G-00-6016-00 and administered by the Antiquities Development Project (ADP) of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE).

Statement of Responsibility:

Across the area known as “The Valley of the Kings” is a plethora of tombs from different eras of ancient Egyptian history. Among those tombs is that of King Seti I, the second pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt. Seti I ruled during the New Kingdom period for over a decade, and he left behind the largest known decorated tomb in the Theban Necropolis. Under the charge of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), a thorough survey and documentation project was undertaken between the years of 1996 and 1999. The purpose of this project was not only to document the tomb and its state of preservation, but to also make recommendations for future conservation efforts and how best to preserve it going forward. James McLane served as Project Director and Consultant, Raphael Wust as Geologist and Principal Investigator, Garniss Curtis as Geologist, and Brad Porter as Surveyor. This endeavor was made possible with the support of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities).

Additional Resources:

Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities: Tomb of Sety I (KV17)

Theban Mapping Project: Tomb of Sety I

NMEC: Seti I

Recording the Tomb of Seti I in High Resolution

The Temple of Seti I in Abydos

The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical, and Art Historical Analysis