Theban Mapping Project

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Thebes is one of the largest archaeological sites on earth and possibly the richest. It is in Egypt, 500 miles south of Cairo on the West Bank of the Nile River, across from the modern city of Luxor. The tombs and mummies of the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt, in the Valley of the Kings, have fascinated us for hundreds of years. But the history of the area is much, much older. The earliest recorded references we have to modern European visitors in the Valley of the Kings date to the 18th century. One of the earliest European maps of the area was the one drawn by the scholars accompanying Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1799 expedition to Egypt. However, the Theban area has been occupied for the last half-million years. It first assumed importance in the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BCE) as the great city of Waset, the capital of the Fourth Upper Egyptian nome (province). It was known throughout antiquity; Homer called it “hundred-gated Thebes”.This Web site offers incredible depth and information about the Valley of the Kings and Egyptology in four major sections. The Theban Necropolis offers a tour of the major monuments of Thebes. Valley of the Kings visits the tombs of Egypt’s New Kingdom Pharaohs. KV5 follows the ongoing work of the Theban Mapping Project in the tomb of the sons of Rameses II. Egyptology goes behind the scenes of the fascinating work of Egyptology. Each of these sections of the site contains an overview, history, personal profiles of individuals involved (be they explorers or the Pharaohs themselves), and QuickTime Videos. There are downloadable tomb drawings on the site, as well.Directed by Kent R. Weeks, the Theban Mapping Project (the TMP, now based at the American University in Cairo) has been preparing a comprehensive archaeological database of Thebes for the last 20 years. With its thousands of tombs and temples, Thebes is one of the world’s most important archaeological zones. Sadly, however, it has not fared well over the years. Treasure hunters and curio seekers plundered it in the past; pollution, rising ground water, and mass tourism threaten it in the present. Even early archaeologists destroyed valuable information in their search for museum-quality pieces. Thebes was considered an inexhaustible archaeological cornucopia. Today we know that the monuments of Thebes are a finite resource. If we don’t protect and monitor them, they will vanish, and we and our descendants will all be the poorer. The TMP believes that the first and most essential step in preserving the heritage of Thebes is a detailed map and database of every archaeological, geological, and ethnographic feature in the area. Only when these are available can sensible plans be made for tourism, conservation, and further study.The TMP has concentrated on the Valley of the Kings. Modern surveying techniques were used to measure the tombs there, often for the first time. Some tombs were large and complex enough to require over three thousand separate measurements. From this data, the TMP is preparing three-dimensional computer models of the tombs. And, of course, the TMP is continuing in the excavation and clearance of KV5.