Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (18.2006(2008))

DEIR EL-BAHARI

EGYPT

DEIR EL-BAHARI
TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT
SEASON 2005/2006
Zbigniew E. Szafrabski

Working from 15 November 2005 to 11 April 2006, the Polish-Egyptian Mission to the
Hatshepsut Temple at Deir el-Bahari1 focused attention on the main tasks, which comprised
the ongoing restoration of the Solar Cult complex, conservation of the Southern Chamber of
Amun-Re, and the continued documentation and excavation of the Royal Mortuary Cult
Complex and the area to the south of it.
Meanwhile the final result of our restoration of the North Wall of the Upper (Festival)
Courtyard was recorded with regard to the epigraphy and a study of scenes from the
“Beautiful Feast of the Valley” was completed. Two scenes with Ahmes-Neferure in the West
Wall of the Courtyard, located on either side of the granite portal, were documented to
illustrate a pointy of ideological importance for the interpretation of the temple.
The restoration and conservation of the sandstone statue of King Amenhotep I (found in
Asasif in 1982) was continued. In the storeroom housing relief fragments from the temple of
Tuthmosis III, activities centered on completing a theoretical reconstruction of the iconographic
temple decoration program.
Workshops in Conservation (a fairly new program established by Dr. Holeil Ghaly in
2004 with assistance from the Polish team), held at Luxor, provided a forum for discussing
conservation activities planned at the Temple of Hatshepsut and other conservation projects in
the Thebes area. Parallel to the conservation program implemented by the Mission, team
members worked on individual documentation and publishing projects, like the architecture
and archaeology of the Solar Cult Complex to be published jointly by T. Kaczor and
Z.F. Szafranski as volume VI. 2 in the Deir el-Bahari series.

1 The staff included: Zbigniew E. Szafranski, egyptologist (Director); Miroslaw Barwik, egyptologist (Deputy Director);
Olga Bialostocka, egyptologist; Aleksandra Brzozowska, student of architecture; Marta Cytrynska-Sankiewicz, student of
archaeology; Maigorzata Czapinska, student of architecture; Monika Czerniec, conservator; Andrzej Cwiek, egyptologist;
Monika Dolinska, egyptologist; Mariusz Dybich, technician; Paulina Gylybowa, student of art; Jadwiga Iwaszczuk,
egyptologist; Maciej Jawornicki, photographer; Ewa Jozefowicz, student of egyptology; Teresa Kaczor, Chief Architect;
Marlena Koczorowska-Pyzik, student of conservation; Fabiola Kolago, student of archaeology; Edyta Kopp, egyptologist;
Olivera Krgovic, student of archaeology; Maria Lulkiewicz-Podkowmska, restorer; Maria Mathia, student of archaeology;
Ivana Medenica, student of archaeology; Mieczystaw Michiewicz, construction engineer; Agnieszka Niemirka,
archaeologist; Marek Puszkarski, documentalist; Anastazja Stupko, archaeologist; Izabela Uchman-Laskowska, chief
restorer; Dawid Wieczorek, student of archaeology; and volunteers: Iwona Antoniak, student of archaeology, Maigorzata
Kujawa, archaeologist; Szymon Maslak, archaeologist; Eliza Szpakowska, archaeologist; Agnieszka Wojciechowska,
historian. The SCA was represented by inspectors: Mohamed Mousa Mohamed and Mohamed Yusef Mohamed Hassan.
We are indebted to Dr. Sabry Abdel Aziz, General Director of the SCA Pharaonic Department and Mr. Ali Al-Asfar,
General Director of the SCA Luxor West Bank Antiquities, el-Gurna, as well as to Prof. Michal Gawlikowski, Director of
PCMA, for their invaluable assistance and continuous support.

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