Documentation, Conservation and Reconstruction of the Heritage of the Middle Kingdom of Thebes, Egypt

Abstract

The recent loss of the roof of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral has made us reflect once more on the relevance of having a graphic database of the existing heritage [1, 2]. Other monuments of antiquity have not had this luck and have been lost forever without having a graphic image that allows their study, as well as a possible reconstruction in real size, on a small scale or through virtual reality. Professor Morales as “Muddir” of the excavations carried out by the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH) in the area of Deir el Bahari leads an expedition formed by almost fifty specialists from all fields that is bringing to light the remains of some Tombs of the Middle Theban Empire in Egypt. From the architectural point of view, with the ongoing research, a complete database of the funerary monuments studied is being prepared to allow a deeper study of them, their cataloging and comparison, as well as the dissemination of this knowledge to other scientists and society through traditional techniques or the most modern tools at our disposal, such as the creation of 3D prototypes or virtual reality. It should be noted that the economic support for the realization of these exploration campaigns comes both from public bodies at European, national or regional level, as well as from companies or private associations without whose support their development would not be possible.