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Memnon Update
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| Recently the area behind the Colossi has become a hive of activity. The statues themselves are now shrouded in scaffolding as restoration work is carried out on them, but it is in the area behind them, where the temple once stood, that the most dramatic transformation is happening.
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The rubble which was lying about the complex has now been moved and catalogued and excavation work has started throughout the area. One piece of stone observed on the last visit has now been excavated and actually turns out to be part of a large seated statue lying on it's side. In addition in the area of the Hypostyle hall and courtyard the meter thick dried mud has been cleared revealing the original floor of the temple.
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| The area has also been cleared down to the original floor level in the hypostyle hall revealing the bases of the original columns. This new clearance work has also unearthed thousands of new stone fragments of the temple which should allow a more accurate reconstruction to be attempted.
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Unfortunately I only noticed all this work happening on my last day, so I was not able to explore more fully what was actually happening. It looks like anything threatened by the ground water level has been raised and put on drier ground. Teams of workers are active all over the site engaged in excavating, clearing and lifting operations.
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