What's going on in Luxor?

We all know that the "mansions of millions of years", the tombs and temples built by the ancient Egyptians that were meant to last forever, are seriously threatened -- and have been for a long time now. Among the many causes are subsoil water seepage, infrastructure development, unrestricted housing, and that greatest menace of all -- tourism. Fifty years ago fewer than a hundred visitors a day visited Luxor's magnificent monuments. Now there are as many as 9,000, and they are largely responsible for rapid changes in temperature and humidity levels in the tombs.

It's a never-ending struggle.

Take Nefertari's tomb in the Valley of the Queens as an instance. The tomb was discovered in 1856 by Ernesto Schiaparelli, and was closed to visitors in the 1950s because of the marked deterioration of the marvellous wall paintings of Ramses II's most beloved of wives. It remained closed until 1986 when the Getty Conservation Institute, in collaboration with the then Egyptian Antiquities Organisation (EAO), undertook a major conservation programme. The tomb was reopened in 1995, theoretically to a limited number of visitors per day. Unfortunately, however, this was difficult to control -- or perhaps there was not enough incentive to do so. Anyway, the newly restored paintings deteriorated at such a rate that the condition of the tomb caused renewed concern to the authorities and was closed in 2003; this time to all but small groups willing to pay a substantial entrance fee. This somewhat reduced humidity in the tomb but it did not solve the problem because the paintings are on plaster which tends, because of its weight, to separate from the bedrock. Further efforts were made by the Getty Institute to slow the rate of buckling, and the number of tourists is now "strictly controlled" -- according to Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) -- but the process of destruction continues. Even re-closing the tomb will not save it. All that can be done is to monitor its inevitable deterioration.

Tourism is expected to increase in the next decade, and is essential for the Egyptian economy. Not everyone is pessimistic, however. "Large numbers of tourists do not necessarily spell the death of an ancient site provided their numbers are carefully regulated and environmental controls are put in place to counter their negative effects, and long-term management plans are implemented", Kent Weeks, director of the Theban Mapping Project (TMP) since 1979, says. Weeks points out that he recognised early on the urgent need for archaeological conservation on the necropolis, the west bank of the Nile, and in collaboration with the SCA he launched the first step to establish a survey grid across the necropolis to make it possible for the accurate location of monuments. His next step was a detailed survey of the Valley of the Kings that included topographical maps and meticulous plans of all accessible tombs.