Following Odysseus Not the end of the world Amarna city of light ...

InterviewRoaming withRomerEgyptologist, historian and archaeologist John Romer tells Diana Bentley how hemoved from studying stained glass to digging in the Valley of the KingsWhen John Romer entered theRoyal College of Art in 1966to study the art of stainedglass, little did he thinkthat it would lead him all the way backto ancient Egypt. But when he saw a noteposted on the Stained Glass Department’snoticeboard asking for artists to jointhe University of Chicago’s EpigraphicSurvey in Luxor, he leapt at the chance.‘I’d been interested in ancient Egypt since Iwas a child. I gave a lecture on the Pyramidsat school when I was 12, and the first bookI purchased was Wallis Budge’s Guide tothe British Museum’s Egyptian Collections,price 1/3d,’ he recalls. Romer and his newwife Beth, a fellow art student who laterbecame an archaeologist, set off for Egypttogether, and an enduring and mutual passionfor the country and its long, enthrallinghistory was born.The renowned archaeologist, author andtelevision presenter remembers how hefelt when he first arrived there: ‘My initialimpressions, during a night drive from theairport, were unforgettable. Hot, marvellouslyperfumed air, dark streets, with littlefires lit on the pavements and people in galabeyasflitting in and out of the shadows.’In Luxor the Romers set to work as epigraphicartists, although at first they foundthe ancient temples disappointing.‘I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about,’he says. ‘It took years of working in themto appreciate their beauty – you have tobe able to look through the dust and ruin.’The sites were also disconcertingly disordered:‘Thebes looked like an explosion hadoccurred, with mummies lying all around.’Nevertheless, after working six days a weekin the temples, the Romers spent the seventhlooking at other monuments and, like otherartists before them, including the legendaryHoward Carter, they became increasinglydrawn to archaeology. Fortunately, the environmentwas perfect for those keen to learn.‘Chicago House, the very grand headquartersof the University of Chicago’sOriental Institute Epigraphic Survey in16Luxor, was a centre of archaeology and hada superb library. I spent all my waking hoursreading and asking an extraordinary rangeof archaeologists what they were doingand why,’ Romer explains. ‘So Beth and Ihad seen dozens of digs before we wereemployed to work on one.’The Valley of the Kings especiallyattracted the couple’s interest. After manyyears of working privately at the site, theyorganised and ran an expedition to makegeological, epigraphic and conservationalstudies between 1977 and 1979.‘It was the first ever at that site, whichthen was little known or cared about byEgyptolgists. Not much had been done sinceHoward Carter’s day and it was sufferinggreatly because of a rise in tourism,’ Romerexplains. ‘We needed a base in the valley tostore our equipment, and Ramesses XI wasa huge open and largely empty tomb whichseemed perfect for that task. Carter, in fact,had used it as a store and a dining roomwhen he excavated Tutankhamun.’Before they could use the tomb, however,the debris within it had to be cleared away.‘That’s when we realised that most of thisdebris was very ancient, that the tomb wasonly half finished and had been used at theend of the New Kingdom as a storeroomfor the royal mummies. So we found lotsof extraordinary stuff. It was the first tombto be excavated in the valley since Carter’swork on Tutankhamun. It was tense workand very exciting but, nonetheless, a sideshow to the expedition’s main task ofconservation, of which I am very proud.Virtually all the later work in the Valley ofthe Kings stems from some of the brilliantwork of the specialists who worked on theexpedition and later wrote articles in ourreports,’ he says.The team also found that despite its aridappearance, the valley was subject to flooding,so work was undertaken to lessen thedamaging effect of water on the tombs.Much work was also done to clean up thearea and organise its tourist facilities.‘The ticket office lay in the middle of thevalley and buses and taxis were driving rightinto it,’ Romer recalls.In 1979 he and his wife, together withsome American colleagues, also foundedthe Theban Foundation, based in Berkeley,Minerva November/December 2012