Global Journal of Human Social Science, D: History, Archaeology and Anthroplogy, Volume 23 Issue 2

Conservation and Restoration of the House of Butehamon 21 st Dynasty 1054 BC - The Medinet Habu Temple Precinct Lotfi Khaled Hassan Abstract- “Understanding the original materials and techniques used in objects not only p rovides insights in to its history of construction but may also shed light on the nature of past and current deterioration problems”. The royal scribe and overseer of the royal treasury in Theban necropolis. Butehamon held office during the reign of Pinudjem I in the 21st Dynasty 1054 BC. Butehamun had long lived in the village of Deir el-Medina working on the tombs in the Valley of Kings, Butehamun’s coming of age saw invasion and civil war in Thebes, and the end to the making of new tombs in the Valley, as the New Kingdom came to an end. Instead, he was given the task by the High Priests of Amun to remove and rewrap royal mummies and rebury them in secret caches, while plundering them of their gold and other valuables for the coffers of the priestly rulers of Thebes. That project seems to have been successful: The mummy of every single king from the 18th through 21st Dynasties that has been identified and was found in a tomb was found in the two caches KV 35 or TT 320 (with the sole exception of Tutankhamun). Butehamun is unusually well- documented, leaving behind many letters, labels on coffins he worked with, graffiti, and highly unusual imagery on his own coffins. Two houses he lived in have been excavated, one with inscriptions about his family [2]. The Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago excavated and restored the House of Butehamon in Habu temples in 1930-31, and is one part of Conservation projects in Habu, it lasted six months, 2016 to 2019 [5]. The House of Butehamon consists of two sections surrounded by mud brick walls, four columns in the western section and two columns (with large parts missing) that were down to earth, no plastered in eastern section. the plaster was in bad condition and were missed in many areas. Keywords: conservation, archaeology, egyptology, heritage, reintegration, integration, conservation, restoration, ancient egypt, art, conservation science. I. I ntroduction he conservation and management of archaeological sites is a crucial aspect of modern archaeological research. No field project stands outside a consideration of how the archaeological resource is to be used in contemporary society, and issues of physical and intellectual access are primary. The balance between current and future uses, often complicated by political, social and economic considerations, and notions of 'sustainability', form a vital part of decision-making around any archaeological project. The theory and practice of archaeological site management encompasses the reasons for selecting sites for preservation and/or display, participatory planning, power in decision-making, approaches to managing and conserving a site's significance, preventative conservation, technical approaches to site conservation, interpretation strategies, sustainable tourism, etc. In Egypt, where internationally renowned archaeological sites attract both academic and tourism interests, archaeological sites and monuments are suffering from different issues. Amongst the various causes is the failure to recognize the relationship between the sites and the present society — both the local community and other stakeholders — and this has Amongst the various causes is the failure to recognize the relationship between the sites and the present society — both the local community and other stakeholders — and this has negatively influenced the sites. Not only have the local communities been given limited access to knowledge, and limited opportunities to become involved in the archaeology, but also their attempts to pursue a better standard of living have been restricted for the sake of protecting the national heritage. T Volume XXIII Issue II Version I 43 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 D © 2023 Global Journals Author: The Epigraphic Survey, The Oriental Institute, Chicago University, Chicago, USA. e-mail: hslotfi@gmail.com Figure 1: Butehamon house, the state of conservation in 1930 (photo by Hölscher).