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The courtyard of Ramses II, towards the colonnade, view into the imperial cult chamber

Description:
“The room that became the imperial cult chamber during the Tetrarchy was in pharaonic times the first in a series of halls that made up the temple's inner sanctum. Immediately upon entry, visitors (exclusively priests in the Egyptian cult, because the unpurified were never allowed into this part of the temple) were confronted with a large doorway on the opposite, southern wall that led into another hall, which led to the barque shrine, where the image-bearing boat was kept, and finally ended in the holiest chamber of all, the sanctuary of Amun. This first room was therefore a liminal space, marked as important by its inaccessibility to the general public, yet it was not a room in which the presence of the deity resided per-manently. It was, however, a space where a visitor physically realized the transition from secular to sacred space, by moving through it, or at least seeing through it, toward the gods (or rather, the statues of the gods in the inner sanctuary). The choice of this room as the focus of Roman modifications to Luxor Temple seems therefore a particularly powerful political statement. By the Romans' blocking the southern doorway of this room, which once led to the pharaonic inner sanc-tum, and filling it instead with images of the Roman emper-ors, the reconfigured room simultaneously usurped access to the pharaonic god and was reconstituted as a space in which the Roman emperors, represented by their painted presence, underwent a divine transformation. Diocletian especially, illustrated with the attributes of Jupiter, the Roman avatar of Amun, was not only presented as the divine ruler of Egypt but also as the arbiter of legitimate temporal power” (McFadden 2015, 127-128).
Date:
February-March 2009
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Vescovo, Arnaldo
Vescovo, Alessandro
Collection:
Luxor Roman Wall Paintings
The courtyard of Ramses II, towards the colonnade, view into the imperial cult chamber

Cleaning Mosaic A2

Description:
Located in the north-eastern corner of the villa, the motif of mosaic A2, executed in opus tessellatum technique, was one of the most popular ornaments found on Roman mosaic floors in Egypt. In this instance, the pattern was arranged with big tesserae of irregular shape and roughly cut. A coin of Hadrian’s reign was found under this floor. Project staff succeeded in uncovering the previously unexplored central fragment and north-western corner of this mosaic. Briefly, the state of the mosaic can be summarized with: tesserae loss along the borders, 15% of the original surface missing, small lacunae filled with cement in the 70s, distorted and sagged surface,and bedding mortar weakened. Some conservation measures included: mechanical/chemical cleaning of the surface; removal of cement infillings (70s intervention); reintegration of lacunae, reconstruction of edges; and stabilization of some areas.
Date:
May - July 1998
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Brock, Edwin
Vincent, Robert
Collection:
Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation
Cleaning Mosaic A2

Mosaic A6 after conservation

Description:
It should be assumed that most of the mosaics in house alpha could be dated to the first half of the second century AD. Mosaic A6 appears to be slightly earlier and may have been executed even at the very end of the 1st or beginning of the 2nd century AD. The original design of the emblem was altered in antiquity as a result of reparations. Out of the original hunting scene, only the panther remained alongside two little horns of a goat beside the left leg. This motif related to the Dionysiac mythology is a rare occurrence for Egyptian mosaic floors. The emblema was made in opus vermiculatum technique. Briefly, the state of the mosaic can be summarized with: 20% of the original surface is missing; tesserae losses along the edges; mosaic A7 was superimposed on its surface, amongst other distortions. Reinforcements, partial reconstructions, cleaning and other conservation measures were undertaken as necessary. For more details, refer to Progress Report 5 or the Final Report.
Date:
May 1999 - April 2000
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Brock, Edwin
Vincent, Robert
Collection:
Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation
Mosaic A6 after conservation

Limestone cornice fragment in situ

Description:
A large and well preserved fragment of entablature found directly on top of the courtyard pavement could provide a hint as to the architectural decoration of the house. It combines the Doric triglyph with elements of the Ionic cornice in a syncretic approach to architectural decoration that was common in Greco-Roman Alexandrian art. For further details on the architectural remains of Early Roman villa Alpha, see the Final report or Progress Report 2.
Date:
July 8-9, 1998
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Brock, Edwin
Collection:
Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation
Limestone cornice fragment in situ

Excavations in Late Roman building B

Description:
Rodziewicz believed that Building B was the latest structure to be found in all of the domestic quarter then excavated. It was constructed in the second half of the 6th century AD and did not go out of use before the middle of the 7th century. The rectangular layout included four rooms of a similar size set in a row. Three small units (b1-b4) were added on to the front elevation in the 7th century. The structure appears to have served some domestic purposes, either as stores or workshops. The walls survived relatively high only in the eastern part. The remaining walls, especially the western elevation and the partition walls preserved only the bottom parts. The foundations of most of these walls., made of loose small stones, furnace refuse, and brick debris, were rather shallow, reaching no more than 0.80-1.00 m below the occupational levels, that is, ca. 0.50-0.60 m above the mosaic floors found underneath. Some sections of the walls of the building B were reconstructed in the seventies. The need to uncover surviving mosaics of the house alpha, as well as overall plan of the mosaic exhibition required the removal of both some of these low-surviving Late Roman walls and fragments reconstructed in the seventies (Final Report).
Date:
May 14-16, 1998
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Brock, Edwin
Collection:
Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation
Excavations in Late Roman building B

Exterior of shelter after construction

Description:
In order to protect the mosaics within their original context, a 15 x 12 m shelter was built to prevent damage from detrimental atmospheric factors, especially rainwater. The shelter protects the mosaic floors from direct sunshine (staving the risk of thermal expansion) and possible damage from visitors. As they are situated 1.5 m below ground level, a footbridge was constructed for viewers. There are no internal supports to conflict aesthetically with the remaining ancient ruins. The shelter's outer wall was designed to adjust to the existing walls of the Byzantine building. In places where the walls did not survive or were preserved in lower course, new walls made of security glass panels were introduced. For more details on the shelter design, refer to the Final Report or the Progress Reports.
Date:
May 1999 - April 2000
Resource Type:
still image
Photographer:
Brock, Edwin
Vincent, Robert
Dobrowolski, Jaroslaw
Collection:
Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation
Exterior of shelter after construction