TUTANKHAMUN's tomb might have contained wonderful things, but soon it won't be unique. Plans are afoot to make the most famous tombs in Egypt twice as appealing, writes Nevine El-Aref Closing Tutankhamun, Nefertari and Seti I's tombs is the first step in the new plan to protect the Valley of the Kings. The valleys of the Kings and Queens have a magical atmosphere that visitors find magnetising. It lures thousands of tourists to the Theban west bank every day, bringing valuable revenue for Egypt and an unforgettable experience for them. But it has a downside. The hot, stale air they exhale with every breath they take is causing serious damage to the walls, especially painted surface. The breath increases the humidity, and in some cases creates fungus on the tombs' inner walls. And as tourists tend to follow a concentrated path and visit certain tombs, especially the tombs of Pharaohs Tutankhamun, Seti I, Ramses VI and Horemheb and Queen Nefertari, while seldom going to see other tombs (the Valley of the Kings houses 63 royal tombs) the problem of these major and most beautiful tombs is exacerbated. "These tombs will be completely destroyed in less than 500 years if we do not close it and protect them from the flow of tourists. Tourism is not properly managed." Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA, told Al-Ahram Weekly. He added that this means some tombs needed added protection, while others needed to be closed completely in order to save their paintings. As a first step, the SCA is currently installing a cool lighting system in the Valley of the Kings so that people can visit the tombs in the evening. This will help protect the paintings as it will spread the number of visits over the course of the day. "It will also allow the tombs to escape from the extra head and moisture that builds up in them throughout the day," Hawass said. As for the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari, Hawass said a plan to protect them was now being implemented in collaboration with the British organisation Adam Lowe of Factun Arte. The plan is to create identical replicas of these tombs by making detailed high-resolution copies of the burial chambers, paintings and sarcophagi using laser scanners. After the replicas have been constructed they will be installed on the cliff side of the Valley of the Kings, which will be called "The Replica Valley" where visitors can experience their beauty with the knowledge that the ancient paintings are being preserved. Hawass pointed out that missing fragments from these tombs now held in foreign museum, would also be scanned and added to the overall reconstruction to give a complete picture of the tombs. This is a policy turnabout for Hawass. When a similar proposal was put forward in 2002, he rejected it, but he now says reports made at the time were inaccurate. "On the contrary, I applauded the project but my concern or rejection was on the location of the replicas," he says. "They were meant to be installed in Cairo and I prefer to replicate the tombs beside the originals in the Valley of the Kings, like the Altamira Cave in Spain and the Lascaux Cave in France. This is my only way of protecting and rescuing these threatened tombs." Hawass says 13 royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings were open but no one visits them. Once the most popular tombs are closed tourists will be more encouraged to visit the others. The original tombs can still be entered, but at a price. "Whoever wants to visit the original tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari must pay a huge amount of money," Hawass says. Starting next month tour guides will not be allowed to enter with their groups into the tombs at Beni Hassan in Minya, Giza and Saqqara. A model will be installed at the entrance of each tomb. The SCA has inaugurated several major site management projects aimed at protecting ancient monuments. It has initiated site management projects at Abu Simbel, the Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan, Edfu, Kom Ombo, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple in Luxor, and at Dendera. "We are currently finishing site management projects at Giza and Saqqara, as well as working at Tell Basta and San Al-Hagar (Tanis), and a month ago we completed our project at Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria," Hawass says. A high quality site management programme requires the means of protecting the site, an educational introduction in a visitor's centre, properly trained personnel, a restoration and conservation for, and, outside of the site, facilities for tourists such as cafeterias, a bazaar and clean washrooms.
