During the months of January and February, I had the rare opportunity of observing the progress of the work being done in the Valley of the Kings by the Amarna Royal Tombs Project. In order to share what was being done with the members of TARF, the dig team kindly permitted me to take photos of the work as it progressed over the six weeks that we were there. The team members were most generous with their time, explaining what the current projects were, the progress that was being made, and their goals both for the season and for the dig as a whole. Every one of them expressed their appreciation to TARF for the help it has given them.

The team arrived with an engineering firm from Japan and set about installing a massive I-beam bridge over which tourists could walk safely while the dig progressed literally under the pathway near Tut’s tomb. This massive structure is strong enough for a vehicle to be driven over, and will be moved to other sites as work progresses over the next few years. Installation of this took about four to five days.

The team then progressed excavating beside and under the pathway. All material removed is carefully sifted, then placed in a wagon for removal from the Valley of the Kings. All the teams in the Valley are cooperating in this attempt to insure that no undiscovered sites become buried by debris from current digs. At the site near Tutankhamen's tomb, I was able to observe them making great progress in uncovering workers' huts. There is a great interest today in recovering material relating to the lives of those who actually made the Valley of the Kings what it became.

The second site that the ARTP is excavating is located near the tomb of Tutmosis III, on the right side of the path as one ascends towards the staircase leading to the tomb. Here they are uncovering the remains of yet another workers village, finding many traces of the inhabitants. As I am sure you know, Geoffrey Martin and Nick Reeves hope to find the cache where they believe that the royal mummies from Amarna were relocated, or "decanted to", in Geoffrey's own words, after the city of Aketaten was totally abandoned. Some interesting inscriptions have been found on the walls to the left of the village, and are being studied in the hopes that they will point the way to new finds. I was standing in the area where materials from this site were being examined, and was present when "something" was found, a very exciting experience.

As we watched this dedicated group of Egyptologists at work over the period of six weeks, we saw their passion for their work, and the amount of hard physical labor it takes to continue the project.

We all await with anticipation the showing of the 90-minute documentary on the work of the ARTP, which Nick Reeves was working on this spring. It has been aired already in Japan, and we are awaiting word as to when it will be aired in other parts of the world. We also look forward to the first issue of the new ARTP newsletter publication, coming later in the year. A more complete discussion of the work and findings of the ARTP this year in the Valley will be published in the Fall issue of the Aketaten Sun.

It was a rare treat to talk with Geoffrey Martin many times over the six weeks that we were in Egypt and hear his ideas. As always, he was the perfect gentleman scholar. He wished me to convey to the membership his deep appreciation for his invitation to be one of our Honorary Trustees, an invitation which he had accepted with thanks.