Happy Birthday to OsirisNet, which has now been going for 10 years, from April 2001 to April 2011. To celebrate the event, they have updated OsirisNet with an unpublished tomb, that of
Senemiah.The tomb TT127 is, at first sight, only a little inviting, blackened by human occupation. However, it includes decoration in relief of a remarkable level. Created by Senemiah, at the time of Hatshepsut-Thutmosis III, it would be reused (but non usurped) during the Ramesside period by Piay and Pairy, who completed and added decor without altering what had already been produced.
Even though the photographic coverage is far from being complete, this tomb is a good example of the help which OsirisNet can bring, even when nothing or nearly nothing exists for a monument. We do this in the hope, on the one hand, to provide an attractive visit, on the other hand to attract to it the attention of the professionals, and finally to modestly contribute to its preservation.
http://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/nobles/senemiah127/e_senemiah127.htm
Roland Tefnin (in the publication "La peinture égyptienne, un monde de signes à préserver") estimated (in 1994), that about only 3% of the Theban tombs had made the object of true scientific publication, the others having to be content with old monographs or quotes, and that 1/3 were completely unpublished. It is very probable that these numbers have not changed much since that time, and it is obvious that the traditional system of publication of the tombs showed its limits, while the deterioration of the monuments, themselves, doesn't slow down.
The solution exists nevertheless, which is simple and less expensive: to photograph correctly all these monuments and to put the images (free) on the Internet, so that the scientists use them for study, and everyone can admire them.
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