Conservation & Preservation Planning for the Weni Mastaba Project
The project had two main aspects. The first was planning for the preservation and presentation of the monumental, mudbrick mastaba tomb complex of Weni the Elder, located in the Abydos Middle Cemetery. The second was the conservation and documentation of artifacts associated with this tomb. Project Directors: Janet Richards and Suzanne Davis
| This project had two main components. The first was planning for the preservation and presentation of the monumental, mudbrick mastaba tomb complex of Weni the Elder, located in the Abydos Middle Cemetery. The second was the conservation and documentation of artifacts associated with this tomb. Although physically stable and well preserved, the mudbrick tomb complex is under threat from the incursion and expansion of nearby farms, from periodic regional business proposals, and from repeated high-level requests to build a road through the site. In the first component, therefore, our goals were to investigate the feasibility of completely exposing the structure and to generate a plan for conserving it and presenting it to visitors, thus providing a tangible visual demonstration of the archaeological significance of the Abydos Middle Cemetery. For the second component, our main goal was to fully document and conserve the excavated artifacts and architectural fragments associated with the Weni mastaba. These include materials with a number of serious condition problems: cracking, powdery limestone relief fragments with friable paint ; fragile, brittle textiles from Weni’s mummy and/or mummification deposit; crumbly, highly-deteriorated, painted wood objects; and fragments of stone and copper artifacts from Weni’s tomb assemblage. |
Project Details
Location: Egypt, Northern Africa, Africa
Organiser(s):
University of Michigan
Project partner(s): Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
Funder(s):
American Research Center in Egypt-Antiquities Endowment Fund
Funding received: $50,000
Commencement Date: 09/2017
Project Status: Completed
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