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The tomb of Seti I, Nefertari and Tutankhamun
With the Supreme Council of Antiquities, University of Basel and the Friends of the Royal Tombs of Egypt
Raphael’s Wedding of the Virgin
With the Brera Museum and Change Performing Arts
Kurt Schwitters
With Romsdalsmuseet and Littoral Arts
 

To view the funding document prepared by the International Foundation for the Preservation of the Royal Tombs of Egypt, click here.

To see the latest update on the making of the facsimile of the Tomb of Tutankhamun click here.

Facsimile of a section of the burial chamber, tomb of Seti I
Valley of the Kings, Luxor. Egypt

Factum Arte produced a conservation facsimile of a section the tomb of Seti I from the Valley of Kings for the Desert Valley Project. The project had the support of both the Ministry of Culture of Egypt and the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Specific emphasis was placed on to installing into the facsimile sections of the tomb removed in the nineteenth century by the British, French, Americans and Italians.

Factum Arte´s Team working in The tomb of Seti the first (KV 17).
The tomb has been closed to the public since the mid 1980´s

Factum Arte had to either modify or design and develop some of the equipment used for this project. The work was carried out using 3D laser scanners and photographic imaging equipment designed especially by Factum Arte. The laser scanning, the computer driven cutting and the printing is being carried out on a scale of 1:1 at a resolution of 100 microns.

3D rendering from the digital data prepared using Factum Arte´s software.



Recording the colour is one of the most complex issues.

Hundreds of colour examples were taken from diferent places in the tomb. We made our own colour guide with painted samples and colorimeter measurements.

First new software was designed to retouch and prepare the 3D data in order to make the facsimile. The machinery for the routing of the 3D data had to be modified and a flatbed inject printer was designed and developed at Factum Arte. In the facsimile digital printing was combined with hand finishing obtaining a result as closely to the original as possible.


Colour coded data from the figure of Anubis in
the Hall of Beauties, The Tomb of Seti I,
Valley of the Kings, Luxor.
3D rendering of the the same Anubis´s head. In 1820 Belzoni took a cast from this figure removing all the paint.


The digital data captured from the tomb of Seti I by Factum Arte’s team has become a valuable resource for the study and preservation of the tombs while the facsimile is important for study and conservation it also gives the public an opportunity to visit the tomb without damaging the original.


A section of the final facsimile.