US-Egyptian Venture Reveals Splendors of Luxor Tombs

Capping a day of drama and discovery, special guests walk past archeological treasures on their way to a special dinner offered by Egyptian officials. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Draa Abul Naga area on the west bank of Luxor whose ground is continuously revealing treasures of Egypt’s ancient past. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

The ARCE project included installing new infrastructure to accommodate visitors. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Experts take journalists on a tour of the site, uncovered after a number of modern buildings were removed. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

British tourists wait their turn to visit the TT 159 tomb of Raya, dating from the 19th Dynasty. He was an official known as the fourth prophet of Amun. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities points to recent excavation work inside the tomb known as TT286. The tomb dates to the 20th Dynasty and belongs to Niay, who was the Scribe of the Table. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

A mural inside the tomb depicts Raya, the fourth prophet of Amun and his wife, Mutemwia. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Journalists and tourists take photos of the murals inside Khonsu Temple at Karnak. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Painstaking conservation efforts involved carefully exposing, cleaning, and documenting exquisite artwork from past millennia. The work was done by 59 ministry conservators who restored chambers like this, one of four chapels in the temple. (H. Elrasam)

Inside Karnak temple, a tent shields visitors from Luxor’s blazing sun. Its fabric’s patterns cast shadows of ancient hieroglyphs. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

The ARCE project provided jobs to one person from each of more than 400 households in the villages surrounding the tombs and Karnak temple. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

U.S. and Egyptian officials get a microscopic look at objects unearthed from the excavations. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Egyptologist Elena Pischikova explains the restoration process at the tomb of Karakhamun. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Egyptian Archeologist Mohamed Shabeb demonstrates how to piece together an ancient puzzle. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities, Khaled Al-Anani, gazes at the Tausert Sarcophagus, on display for the first time since its discovery. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities and Egyptologist Elena Pischikova inaugurated a temporary exhibit at the Luxor Museum on the occasion of the tombs’ opening. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Artifacts on display in Luxor Museum, salvaged using cutting-edge restoration technology. (Photo: H. Elrasam)

Katherine Blakeney is an American filmmaker who arranged the display of the artifacts in Luxor Museum. (Photo: H. Elrasam)