Egyptian young restorers, in collaboration with their colleagues from the restoration department graduates of Luxor and South Valley universities and Luxor Restoration Institute, have completed 95% of the columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall Karnak Temples.
This restoration work adheres to international conservation standards and protocols. The restoration team was able to clean the surface of the columns by removing sand, dust, and bird deposits that had accumulated over time, hiding the columns’ original engravings and colors.
According to Mostafa Waziry, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the first phase of the project began in July 2021 with the restoration of 28 columns out of the 134 columns of the hall, each of which is 20 meters high. The work was carried out to bring back the original engravings and colors of ancient Egyptian inscriptions.
Waziry also pointed out that visitors to Karnak’s Hypostyle Hall will be able to admire its original scenery for the first time. The second phase of the restoration work began immediately after the completion of the first phase, and the hall is expected to be inaugurated soon.
Karnak Temple is the largest and most important religious complex in ancient Egypt. It is located in the south of Upper Egypt on the east bank of the city of Luxor, displaying several temples, obelisks, and shrines built throughout the Middle and New Kingdoms. The temple of Amun-Ra is particularly famous for the vast Hypostyle Hall constructed during the reign of King Seti I. However, parts of the complex were altered by Ptolemaic rulers and Copts for their use.
