CONSERVATION OF TWO STATUES IN THE TEMPLE OF MUT IN LUXOR, EGYPT

InternationalJournalofHumanities andSocialSciences(IJHSS)

ISSN(P):2319

393X;ISSN(E):2319

3948

Vol.11,Issue2,Jul

Dec2022;133

142 ©IASET

CONSERVATIONOFTWOSTATUESINTHETEMPLEOFMUTINLUXOR,EGYPT

Dr.KhadijaAdamTohMoalem1&Dr.JohnShearman2

1AdamShearman,Inc.–

ExecutiveDirector(formallyConservationManageratARCE)

2AdamShearman,Inc.–VPOperationsandDevelopment(formallyAssociateDirector-LuxoratARCE)

ABSTRACT

In2012,theAmericanResearchCenterinEgypt(ARCE),financedbytheUnitedStatesAgencyforInternational Development(USAID)incooperationwiththeEgyptianMinistryofTourismandAntiquities(MoTA)(formallythe EgyptianMinistryofAntiquities)focusedontwobadlydamagedstatuesintheTempleofMut(partoftheKarnakTemple Complex)inLuxor,Egypt.WiththegenerosityofUSAIDandsupportoftheMoTA,bothstatueswereconservedand restoredinafieldschoolsettingutilizingmodernandreversibletechniquesfollowinginternationalstandards.Signage wasprovidedtoinformtouristsandvisitorsoftherestorationhistoryandrepresentationsofthestatues.

KEYWORDS:Sekhmet,RamessesII,MutTemple,Conservation,ArtificialStone,AmenhotepIII

ArticleHistory

Received:08Aug2022|Revised:07Oct2022|Accepted:14Oct2022

INTRODUCTION

Withthe2011EgyptianRevolutioncameeconomichardships,uncertaintyandjoblosses.Asthetourismsectorcountsfor 11.4%oftheEgyptianGDPandprovides12.6%directandindirectjobopportunities(Mohammed2012),thedownturnwas untimelyandanxietieswereveryhigh.USAIDsoughttoreducethisburdenbyfinanciallysupportingcriteriathataddressed manyoftheproblemsduringthistime.TheAmericanResearchCenterinEgypt(ARCE),withthesupportoftheMinistryof TourismandAntiquities(MoTA),developedprojectsthataddressedalloftheUSAIDcriteriainaseriesofprojectproposals. TheauthorsintheirpreviouspositionswithARCE(Dr.JohnShearman

AssociateDirector

LuxorandDr.KhadijaAdam

ConservationManager)developed,budgeted,implementedandmanagedseveralsiteimprovementandtemporaryjobcreation thatalsoincludedtrainingandconservationactivitiesthatwasmeanttoattracttouristsinreturningtoEgypt.

MutTemple

OneoftheprojectswastoimprovetheMutTemplesitethatispartoftheKarnakTempleComplex.Thetempleislocated south,adjacenttothemaintempleatKarnak.Thetemplewasclosedpriortotheprojectandoneoftheproject’sobjective wastocleanandenhancethesite,prepareitfortouristsandopenthetempletovisitors.Initially,thefocuswasonthe sacredlakeandsurveysandtestingstartedin2007(Mokhtar2009)aspartoftheEgyptianAntiquitiesConservation Project(EAC)financedbyUSAID.Thiswasamulti-yearprojectthatcompletedtheworkonthesacredlakein2012 (ARCE2014)andexpandedtoincludeanotherUSAIDcooperativeagreemententitledJobCreationthroughCultural ResourceManagementinLuxor(APS)(ARCE2014).Theprojectsgoalwastoimprovethesiteforsafeaccess,remove debrisandweeds,installweedpreventionmechanisms,andinstallsignage.Thesitewasofficiallyopenedbythen MinisterofAntiquities,MohammedIbrahimAliSayedonJanuary11,2014.

www.iaset.us

editor@iaset.us

Thesitecontainedmanystatuesinallstagesofdecay.Aspartoftheimprovement,concreteslabswereinstalled toseatthestatuesforreductionoftheongoingdecay.Amongthemanystatues,twostatuesinparticularwerechosento conserveandrestoreaspartofatwo-monthstatuereconstructionfieldschoolfromOctober20,2013toDecember20, 2013.ThetraineeswereallemployeesoftheMoTA.Thetrainingwasmeanttofocusontechniquesofconservationand restorationutilizingmaterialsavailableinEgyptsothattheprogramcouldbesustainableinnature.Thefirststatuewasa siteuniquedepictionofthegoddessSekhmetwithadiademofuraeicrown.Thestatuealsocontainedaninscribed cartoucheofShoshenqI.Thesecondstatuewasarepresentationofaroyalindividualwithvisualinscribedindicationof itsportrayalnoticeablyabsent.Previousresearch(Bryan2010)hassuggestedthatinitiallyitrepresentedAmenhotepIIIbut waslatermodifiedandusurpedbysucceedingpharaohs.

StatuesHistory

TherewereseveralearlyexplorerswhocreatedmapsandplansofthetempleincludingNapoleon’sscientistscirca17981801,Nestorl’Hote(Ahram2013)circa1839,KarlLepsiuscirca1842-1845,AugusteMarietteandGastonMasperocirca 1855-1865.ExtensiveexcavationswereperformedbyMargaretBensonandJanetGourlaybetween1895and1897. BensonandGourlay(BensonandGourlay1899)arelargelyresponsibleforuncoveringanddiscoveringtheunique Sekhmetandroyalstatues.TheGoogleEarthimage(Figure1)showsthelocationinthesecondcourtofthestatuesfound insituandwheretheircurrentlocationissimilarlyplacedwithinthetemple.

BensonandGourlaystatetheirdisappointmentthatwhentheroyalstatuewasfoundtherewasnodateorclear inscriptionsthatcoulddatethefigure.ItisidentifiedintheirpublicationasprobablyrepresentingTutankhamun.Infinding theSekhmetstatue,itwascleartothemthatitwasdedicatedtoSheshanq(ShoshenqI)andshowedsomedifferentwork fromtherestandposedaveryimposingappearance.

Figure1:LocationofStatueswithintheTemple.

StatueConservation

AspartofUSAID’sfocusoncapacitybuilding,ARCE’sConservationManager,Dr.KhadijaAdam,preparedaplanfor inclusionofMoTAconservatorsatvariousstagesofexperiencesoastorepresentafieldschoolsettingduringthe20132014season.Thegoalwastoinstructonthevariousstagesofstatueconservationandrestoration.AtotalofnineMTA traineesreceivedinstruction.

Thefirststageinvolvedresearchingthehistoryofthestatuesalongwithdocumentingtheirexistingcondition. Researchwasconductedcitingthesourcesmentionedabovealongwithhistoricphotographs.Theresearchprovidedboth theinstructorandtraineeswithahistoriccontextandconnectionwiththestatues,aswellastypeofstoneused, manufacturingtechniques,andhowtheperiodaffectedtheartstyle.Theexistingconditiondocumentationviaphotographs anddrawingsisanecessarystepnotonlyforhistoricpurposes,butisanecessarybasisforplanningthevitalrestoration procedureandrefurbishmentmaterial.AnotherprogramassociatedwiththegrantfinancedbyUSAID,wasaphotography fieldschool.Thefieldschooltookthenecessaryphotographsalongwithprogressphotosoftheproject.Dr.KhadijaAdam utilizedasustainabletechniquewiththephotographsusingthemasabasisfordrawings.Tracingsofthephotographswere takenasconditionandrestorationmappingasamatterofrecord(seeFigure3).Thefulllistofwrittendocumentation (recordedontheArchivingDataForm)consistedofthefollowing: 

Source:ImageBenson,M.andGourlay,J.(1899)PlatesXIXandXV.

Figure2:Sekhmet(Left)andtheRoyalStatue(Right)asExcavatedby theBensonandGourlayExpedition.

 ConditionMapping1–Previousintervention

 KeyMapping1–Previousintervention

 ConditionReport2–Superficialdecay

 ConditionMapping2–Superficialdecay

 KeyMapping2–Superficialdecay

 ConditionReport3–Structuredecay

 ConditionMapping3–Structuredecay

 KeyMapping3–Structuredecay

 Treatmentproposal

 Treatmentreport

 Treatmentmappingkey

 Treatmentmapping

 Photographaftertreatment

Treatmentmaplegendswereallblackandwhitesothatifcopiesweremade,thesymbolismwouldnotbelostas experiencedwithcolourlegends.ThephotographsweresuppliedbythePhotographyFieldSchooltraineesfromthe MoTA.Thetracingsweredoneonlocallyavailabletracingpaper.AlltraineesunderARCE’ssupervisiongeneratedallthe mappingandconditionreportsfollowingtheICOMOSIllustratedGlossaryonStoneDeteriorationPatternsdocumentthat isavailableinEnglish-Arabictext.

ImpactFactor(JCC):7.3299

NAASRating3.17

Figure3:ShowingtheInitialSustainableDocumentationProcessof Photography,TracingandConditionMapping.

Inordertomovethesectionsofthestatues,aportablecranewasdesignedbyDr.JohnShearmanandfabricated foruseontheprojecttobedonatedtotheMoTAuponcompletionoftheproject.Withthecompletionofthe documentationoftheexistingcondition,thepreviouscementpatchingwasremovedalongwiththeseparationandcleaning ofdismantledstatuepieces.Thepreviousinterventionofthecementpatchingofthestatueswasperformedduring,and mostlikely,afterBenson’sexpeditionasattestedbythephotographsintheexpedition’spublication.FortheSekhmet statue,BensonandGourlay(BensonandGourlay1899)records“Itwasbrokenatthewaistandintwoorthreeplaces belowthewaist,butnearlyallofthestatuecouldbefound.Wemanagedtoputittogetherbytheaidofapplianceslentto usbyM.Legrain,whowasthenDistrictInspectorofAntiquities,andunderthedirectionofanexperiencedreiswhowas workingforhimatKarnak,andwhoseserviceshekindlyputatourdisposaltowardstheendoftheseasonwhenwewere mendingandputtingupourstatues”.SimilarlywiththeRoyalstatue,BensonandGourlay(BensonandGourlay1899) write“Verylittlewasactuallymissing,sothatwewereablesubsequentlytomendandsetitupinthetemple”.

AlthoughBensonandGourlaydidnotdescribeindetailtheextentofthe“mending”thatwasperformedonthe statues,intime,itissuggestedthattheverticalmajorcrackintheSekhmetstatuelaparea(seeFigure4)openedtoa magnitudethatrequiredsometypeofpatchingtoassistinholdingittogether.ItwasmostlikelypatchedbytheEgyptian governmentwithoversightoftheantiquitiesbuttheexactdatewouldbedifficultintracking.Interestingly,thebase(seat) oftheSekhmetstatue,containedbrokenfillpiecesfromvariouspiecesofstone.Manyofthelargerblocksusedforfillare inscribed(seeFigure7).Therewerealsotwoarmsectionsofthestatuelocatedinthebasethatwasreturnedtoitsoriginal position(seeFigure8).

Figure4:VerticalCementPatchFigure5:ExamplesofStoneDecayontheStatues SekhmetStatueLapArea.

Figure6:SekhmetStatuebaseContainingInscribedBlocksand MiscellaneousFragments.

Figure7:InscribedBlockFillfoundintheSekhmetStatuebase.

Figure8:FillPiecesFoundintheSekhmetStatue.

Figure9:ShowingaFillPieceLocationonthe StatuebaseArm.

Duringthedismantlingandcementremoval,itwasfoundtocontainseveralverythin,corrodedmetalbars.Itwas notedthatmanyofthepreviouscementpatchesfailed,causinglargeopenverticalcracks.Saltefflorescence,intheformof spallingandsofteningofthestone,wasalsopresentinmanyareas.Waspandbirdnestswerealsoattachedtothestatues. Theworkareawascoveredwithcanvastomaintainacceptableairtemperaturesoasnottoaffectthematerialduring conservation.

Withthestatuesdismantled,anewreinforcedconcretebaseforthestatueswasinstalled(seeFigure11).During thecleaningofthevariouspiecesofthestatues,atreatmentproposalandplanwasgeneratedandtheimplementationphase started.

Thereattachmentofthestatuepiecesonthenewconcretesupportbasewassystematicallyperformedandfully documented.Severalpieceswerejoinedwithsmallreinforcementofstainlesssteelpinsanddowels.Thismaterialis resistanttocorrosiveatmosphericconditions.Cracksweretreatedandsealedalongwithmiscellaneouspatchingandreestablishingastatuebaseusingartificialstone.TheartificialstonebasewasamixtureofcrushedGranodiorite,Adibond, GlassSandandPozzolana.

SCULPTUREANDMOLDING

MouldingwasanessentialtrainingactivityintheARCEfieldschool.Mouldingtechniquesandapplicationscansupport manyfutureconservationactivities.Withthecleaning,dismantling,repairsandnewbasecomplete,itwastimeforthe skilledsculptortotrainonthefillinginofmissingfeatures.ThisprocesswasledandperformedbyDr.Professor MohamedShehatafromtheFacultyofArt,SculptureDepartmentatHelwanUniversity.Eachfeaturewascarefully sculptedbasedonmirrorimagingandfillinginremainingpartsofthefeature.Severalmaterialscanbeusedasthebasis forthemould.Inourcase,plasterwasused(seeFigure12).Uponthecompletionoftheplasterfeature,asiliconerubber coatingwasplacedoverthesculptedpiecethatwouldbeusedasamouldfortheartificialstonereplacement.Theartificial stonewasmixedandplacedintothesiliconerubbermould.Theresultswereafabricatedfeaturethatwouldbedisplayed asacompletedpieceoftheoriginalsculpturewithanobviousdistinctdifferenceincolourandtexture(seeFigure13).The fieldschoolalsousedtwotechniquesforthereplacementpieces.IntheSekhmetStatue,theartificialpieceswererecessed fromtheoriginaltohighlightthedifferencesbetweentheoriginalstoneandtheartificialstone.IntheRoyalStatue,the artificialpieceswereonthesamelevelwiththeoriginalstonebutthedifferencebetweenthetwomaterialswerevisually evident.Theotherimportantlessonforthetraineesatthefieldschoolwasthattheartificialstonereplacementcouldbe

Figure10:ExcavationfortheSekhmetStatuebaseFigure11:TheCompletedConcretebase.

removedinthefutureifsodesired(i.e.reversible).

Uponcompletionoftheconservationandrestoration,signagewasinstalleddisplayingthehistoryofthestatue thatalsopresentedthebeforeandafterconservationresults.Thestatueswereenclosedwitharoperailingbarrier,toavoid visitortouchingorclimbingonthestatues.

CONCLUSION

TheARCEStatueReconstructionFieldSchoolunderthedirectionofDr.KhadijaAdamwasacompletesuccess.The beforeandafterphotosshowtheremarkableconservationandrestoration(seeFigure14,Figure15,Figure16,andFigure 17).Somestudentswentontotreatotherstatuesperlessonslearnedinthefieldschool.Thestatuesstandtodayasa testamentofEgyptianconservationskillasallpartiesactivelyinvolvedinthetrainingwereEgyptian,supportedand financedbyUSAIDincollaborationwiththeMoTA.

ImpactFactor(JCC):7.3299

NAASRating3.17

Figure12:StudentsPlacingthePlasterMixtureforthe SculptureoftheMissingFragment.

Figure13:Dr.ShehataInstallingFabricatedArtificialStone ReplacementPieceafterMoulding.

REFERENCES

1.https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/62647/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/The-lioness-for-real.aspx

2.AmericanResearchCenterinEgypt(ARCE)(2012).AnnualReportforYear8(October1,2011–July14,2012) andAnnualImplementationPlanforYearNine(July15,2012–July14,2013)TheEgyptianAntiquities Conservation Project (EAC) USAID Agreement No. 263-A-00-04-00018-00. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00JBDR.pdf

3.AmericanResearchCenterinEgypt(2014).FINALREPORT(October1,2011throughDecember31,2014).Job CreationthroughCulturalResourceManagementinLuxor(APS).CooperativeAgreementNo. AID‐263‐A‐11‐00020.https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00KHC4.pdf#page=1&zoom=auto,-73,140

Figure14:SekhmetbeforeConservation.Figure15:SekhmetafterConservation.

Figure16:RoyalStatuebeforeConservationFigure17:RoyalStatueafterConservation.

4.Benson,M.andGourlay,J.(1899).TheTempleofMutinAsher.Anaccountoftheexcavationofthetempleand ofthereligiousrepresentationsandobjectsfoundtherein,asillustratingthehistoryofEgyptandthemain religiousideasoftheEgyptians.JohnMurray,London.pp.36-41.

5.Bryan,B.M.(2010).AmenhotepIII’sLegacyinTheTempleofMut.CultureandHistoryoftheAncientNearEast. Volume38.OfferingstotheDiscerningEye.AnEgyptologicalMedleyinHonorofJackA.Josephson.Chapter8. pp.63-72.BrillPublishing.Leiden,TheNetherlands.

6.Mohammed,A.A.A.,Jones,E.,Fayed,H.A.S.,andDawood,A.(2012).TheImpactoftheEgyptianPolitical Eventsduring2011onHotelOccupancyinCairo.JournalofTourismResearch&Hospitality,1(3).

7.Mokhtar,M.(2009).FINALREPORT.ARCEGroundwaterLoweringResponseProject,Luxor.Preservationof theSacredLakes–MutLakeDewatering.June2008–March2009.TheEgyptianAntiquitiesConservation Project(EAC).USAIDAgreementNo.263-A-00-04-00018-00.https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00JB99.pdf