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Here is the translation of the page of
December 1st, 2006 of my internet diary. I will let you
judge if it looks like the account of a sensational
discovery:
"On
the excavation there is great news. We entered a new tomb...
It is the tomb of Uahibre-neb-pehty (Theban Tomb 191), a
priest who lived in the second half of the 7th Century BC.
Its entrance opens onto the Eastern side of the entrance
portico of the Tomb of Harwa and, in order to continue the
excavations in this area, we have been required to remove
the debris that was covering it. We discovered the wall that
sealed
it which showed traces of at least two burglaries.
I do not understand why the robbers worried about entering
from here, given that the tomb is easily accessible from the
courtyard of another tomb, that of Kheruef.
The demolition
of the wall allowed the sunlight to enter the short entrance
corridor in the adjacent small room. The room has been cut
against a pre-existing tomb that is entered from the
courtyard of the tomb of Kheruef and has a very slight wall
that has been broken through. The remains of the wall
decoration causes us to regret what has been lost. Only the
complete image of a sacred calf and the back of another
preceding it survive. The short survey of the Tomb of
Uahibre-neb-pehty allowed us to establish from where the
fragment of the ceiling with floral decoration, recovered on
November 20 during the excavation of the North-western
corner of the portico (practically from the opposite side as
to the entrance of the Tomb of Uahibre-neb-pahty) comes. It
is in all respects identical to what survives of the ceiling
of the entrance corridor to the tomb of Uahibre-neb-pahty.
Once the debris
had been cleared to a depth of around five feet, we asked
the workmen to rebuild the wall to close again the entrance
to the Tomb of Uahibre-neb-pehty. When we finished the work
at 1 p.m. we left them there to continue that task. We had
previously agreed that they would remain till the building
of the wall was complete. It is not possible to leave a tomb
open even for just a day."
Francesco Tiradritti
A final question: "Why did not the
journalist contact me first?"
I want to thank Jane Akshar (www.luxornews.net)
and Andie Byrnes (http://tinyurl.com/onsen)who
are trying to rectify this regrettable matter. |