The tomb of Seti I (KV17) in the Florence Egyptian Museum. Integrated non-invasive methods for documentation, material history and diagnostics

The tomb of Seti I (KV17) is a magnificent example of New Kingdom' funerary architecture. With its ten rooms and seven corridors with polychrome reliefs of excellent quality, it is among the longest and most spectacular tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Gian Battista Belzoni discovered it in 1817, and he immediately realized the importance of his discovery, describing it "the principal, the most perfect and splendid monument in that country". The opening began a long degenerative process, since the following year, when a flood caused the fall of fragments from walls and ceilings. The Franco-Tuscan expedition 1828-29, led by Jean François Champollion and Ippolito Rosellini studied the tomb. The scholars remarked the freshness of paintings but also their increasing decay. Champollion wrote: "[...] Mais cette belle catacombe dépérit chaque jour. Les piliers se fendent et se délitent; les plafonds tombent en éclats, et la peinture s'enlève en écailles". They decided to remove some reliefs portions that, with thousands of other artifacts, were sent to France (Louvre) and Tuscany, converging in the collections of the future (1855) Egyptian Museum in Florence. Since then the hypogeum has been investigated, documented and restored (Howard Carter, 1903). Decorations removed from Lepsius (1842-45) are now in the Neues Museum of Berlin. The tomb suffers many forms of deterioration: damage of attempts made to remove paintings or track down hidden doors, color deterioration due to natural discoloration, to smoke of candles and torches, but also to wet casts performed by the first scholars (Belzoni, Wilkinson), loss of material. Despite recent conservation works (American Research Center, 1996-2000) mechanical and humidity stress due to tourist flows have accelerated the decay of the tomb, which is currently closed. As part of a collaboration between the Egyptian Museum in Florence, the University of Florence and CNR, a survey project was launched, with non-invasive methods, on the fragments from the Seti I tomb, in Florence. The primary goal is to achieve the best level of documentation, knowledge of the material history and conservation assessment of these artifacts. The approach was tested on a case study to define an integrated protocol of investigation and to verify its potential application to any other pharaonic architectural fragments. We present the results of investigations on the fragment exhibited in Room V (inv. n. 2468), coming from a passage connecting the chamber with four pillars (F) to the corridor G. Here the rock was shaped so as to create a door (height 2.70 m, width 2.09 m, length 1,05 m). Two identical rectangular scenes were carved on the jambs, in which the goddess Hathor welcomes the King handing him the Menat necklace, both removed by Champollion and Rosellini. The fragment of Florence is from the left jamb (SE), its opposite, now in the Louvre (inv. No. B.7) from the right one (NW). The width of both (1.05 m) corresponding to the depth of jambs, indicates that they were completely removed. The rectangles were cut at different heights (Florence: 2,60 m, Paris: 2.26 m), leaving out the remaining surface between it and the sloped ceiling and floor. The current arrangement of the piece, walled and placed on a stand 70 cm high, dates back to the reorganization of Ernesto Schiaparelli (1880). The relief has typical characteristics of the New Kingdom architectural decoration. On the cut and smoothed limestone surface the outlines of the drawing were sketched (visible in the unfinished room "Fa"). Sculptors performed then the relief by lowering the background area between the figures. After finishing, they layed a preparatory layer which could receive the painting mixture. The state of preservation appears mediocre: t