In 2013, the Dra Abu el-Naga (south) Survey Project undertook extensive topographic, geological, and archaeological surveys of the southern part of the cemetery of Dra Abu el-Naga in the Theban Necropolis at Luxor. The aim of the project was to survey the locations of all the tombs, create an accurate topographic map of the area, and locate the ancient ground surface preparatory to modeling the evolution of the site from prior to tomb construction until the present day. The results would contribute to the director’s PhD research into the organisation of the necropolis, and provide consistent and precise coordinates for various research projects working within the Theban necropolis.

I led the real time kinematic (RTK) differential GPS and Total Station survey of the tombs and topography of Dra Abu el-Naga (South), integration with the geographic information system (GIS) and initial data processing. Following precise point positioning (PPP), which fixed the coordinates of the control stations and produced much more accurate results than the RTK DGPS survey alone, I re-processed the raw data for further analysis.

I worked on the Static Survey, to improve the quality of the DGPS data by recording for longer at specified points across the survey area and the Theban Necropolis in general.

I was also involved in the collection of DGPS data at other points across the Theban Necropolis, providing coherent, precise and accurate coordinates on a defined spatial system for control points associated with multiple different projects.

I contributed to two peer-reviewed publications detailing the approach, methods and results of the project.

Outputs

• Six DGPS control stations were established; five across the Dra Abu el-Naga (south) survey area and one on top of the Marsam Hotel.
• 79 tombs were surveyed, including the external structures (courts; pylons; walls; mud-brick pyramids etc) of the 59 tombs with those features.
• Fixed points were recorded at the ‘Mansions of Millions of Years’ (Mortuary Temples) of Amenhotep III (Kom el-Hetan), Thutmose III, Seti I, Ramesses II (Ramesseum), Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahri), Thutmose III and Merneptah.
• Control points were recorded, with permission, at Malkata; the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Project (Marsam Hotel); the Belgian Mission in the Theban Necropolis; the Spanish Mission TT11-TT12; and at the ‘Mansions of Millions of Years’ of Amenhotep III (Kom el-Hetan) and Thutmose III. The survey also included Theban Mapping Project and Survey of Egypt points.
• Following post-processing with PPP the re-processed data was precise to c. 0.10m.
• Two peer-reviewed publications:
  • Bardají, T. Martinez-Graña, A. Sánchez Moral, S. Pethen, H. García-González, D. Cuezva, S. Cañaveras, J.C. Jiménez-Higueras, 2017. A. Geomorphology of Dra Abu el-Naga (Egypt): the basis of the funerary sacred landscape. Journal of African Earth Sciences. 131: 233–250. DOI: 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2017.02.036
  • Jiménez-Higueras, Á., García, D., Pethen, H., Jones, E., Bardají, T., Martínez, A., Sánchez-Moral, S., 2023. An integrated model of the geomorphological and topographic landscape of the necropolis at Dra Abu el-Naga. Prague Egyptological Studies 31: 42 – 72. https://pes.ff.cuni.cz/en/magazin/2023-31-2/.