Valley of the Queens gets a Getty assist

Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Getty Conservation Institute have entered into a six-year partnership for the conservation and management of the Valley of the Queens, one of the world’s most important archeological sites. Building on an earlier collaborative effort -- which conserved wall paintings in the tomb of Nefertari -- the new project calls for a methodical approach to long-term preservation of a broader area on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor.

“We are trying to make the neighborhood safe for Nefertari,” said Tim Whalen, director of the Getty Conservation Institute. “In the last two years we have evaluated the work we did at the tomb of Nefertari and looked at that in the greater context of the Valley of the Queens. Nefertari has held up extremely well since we completed our work there, but it resides in a complex of about 80 other tombs. We are trying to look at the valley holistically.

“Few of the other tombs match Nefertari in importance,” he said, “but they face a wide range of threats. Principal among them are flooding and hydrological challenges because many of the tombs sit below grade. There is also great pressure for tourism. If these threats are not addressed, extraordinary ancient monuments will suffer.”

The first phase of the project, scheduled for 2006-08, will be devoted to research and planning. Getty conservators and Egyptian professionals will document and assess the condition of the tombs. The team will collect environmental data, evaluate damage and consider imminent dangers.

Plans will be implemented during the second phase, from 2009 to 2011. An extensive training program will help prepare Egyptian conservators for the responsibility of preserving and managing the west bank sites in the future. They will attend workshops in Los Angeles, participate in international conferences and learn to use new techniques and materials. Four Egyptian conservators who worked with the Getty on wall paintings in the tomb of Nefertari will have an opportunity to update their skills.

“Working with our counterparts in Egypt,” Whalen said, “we aim to leave behind a master plan for the Valley of the Queens, which we think and hope will be a model for other sites in Egypt.”