Impediment To Productivity: Theban Mapping Project

Theban IconBegun in 1978, the Theban Mapping Project (TMP, now based at the American University in Cairo) has been working to prepare a comprehensive archaeological database of Thebes.

With its thousands of tombs and temples, Thebes is one of the world’s important archaeological zones. Sadly, however, it has not fared well over the years. Treasure-hunters and curio-seekers plundered it in the past; pollution, rising ground water, and the growth of mass-tourism threaten it in the present. Even early archaeologists inadvertently destroyed valuable information in their search for museum-quality pieces.

The site uses Flash to play movies and display photographs, maps and drawings illustrate each of the articles explaining the significance of the Valley of the Kings, as well as providing a broader understanding of the history and development of the Valley of the Kings and the cultural practices that have influenced and shaped the construction and utilization of the tombs in it. There is even a list of movies that were set in Thebes or up the road in Luxor, from Cecil B deMille to James Bond.

This site reminds me of “The Book of Kells CD-ROM” Jools and I picked up at Trinity College a long time ago back in the nineties.

Well executed and a glorious Impediment To Productivity

Published
Categorized as Mondays

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