 The excavations carried out by the Amarna Royal Tombs Project between 1998-2002 were of immense significance - not only for the data the project uncovered but also for the strategy on future work it was possible to formulate on the basis of that information. The prospect of further tombs - which I first raised in 1997 and subsequently pursued on the ground through ARTP - is now demonstrated with the uncovering of KV63. While this prospect has inevitably captured the imagination of those now in charge in the Valley, the more general archaeological potential of the site - the unexcavated parts in which such tombs might be located - seems in danger of being overlooked.
To recap: ARTP’s principal achievement since 1998 has been to demonstrate how much, against all the odds, the Valley of the Kings still has to offer - and further tombs represent but one side of the story. With the discovery of a previously unsuspected and intact stratigraphy, able to breathe new life into old finds and provide a background for much that has gone before, context too has been given a miraculous second chance.
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Observing the work currently being carried out in the Valley my fears for this and other aspects of the site’s archaeological legacy have grown. As an informed third party no longer engaged in fieldwork I am able to speak freely on the current situation and indeed feel a strong responsibility to do so - to provide the sort of independent voice which has for too long been lacking and which like-minded colleagues, fearful for their own concessions, are loath to venture. My agenda is simple and straightforward: to press for the highest possible standards and clarity of purpose in work undertaken both in the tombs themselves and in the Valley at large - before it is altogether too late.
(22/07/2006)
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