MODERN EGYPT

Archaeologist Emmanuel Laroze said that architectural studies were made of the Opet Temple, in particular those parts that contained pieces of wood in their construction. "It seems henceforth certain that stone blocks were forwarded with a ramp built against the north side of the monument," Larose said. At the courtyard a massif stone foundation was identified as the vestige of an earlier Ethiopian temple.

The restoration at this temple concentrated on the micro-sandblasting of the two main chambers of the temple. The ceiling, the architraves, the lintel and the capitals of the hypostyle hall were cleaned, while the consolidation of the ceiling of the offering room required a temporary scaffolding built in red brick. Metal pieces raised upon the intermediate floor served to maintain broken parts with the ceiling during the implementation of steel reinforcement. The stones of the ceiling were strengthened with a metal structure installed on the roof. The scaffolding was dismantled after this work of consolidation. The ceiling, which is darkened with soot, and five damaged small windows were also restored.

During the restoration of the foundation, a sandstone block belonging to a monument of Tuthmosis III and bearing a dedication text to goddess Opet was found within the structure. "It is a remarkable discovery for the history of the area," said excavator Guillaume Charloux, who added that it was the first time that the existence of the Opet Temple was mentioned under the reign of that Pharaoh. Numerous limestone blocks dating to the same period were also unearthed. Most of these were in a fragmentary state and some were decorated on both sides.

The Temple of Khonsu was also subjected to restoration, especially the area between the Opet and Khonsu temples where a stairway was found last year suggesting that both temples were associated. This part of the mission was devoted to the analysis of Khonsu Temple rituals and reliefs of divinities in order to understand the performance of rite in the temple. "Particular subjects in ramesside rooms were perfectly integrated into this ritual, but the question of their origin is still problematic," Egyptologist J C L Degardin said. He pointed out that comparison with other monuments built at the same period, for example the Medinet Habu Temple on Luxor's west bank, allowed a better understanding of particular architectural organisation.

The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is currently developing a restoration project for Khonsu Temple, while Chicago House is participating in the project by carrying out a survey on the reused blocks. "The nearness of both Opet and Khonsu temples associates naturally the two teams in a common project of training and developing the south eastern area of the Amun- Re Temple," Degardin said.

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