Digital penciling on the iPad Pro at Luxor Temple

Digitally penciling the delicately carved eye of Amenhotep III in Procreate

To read about how the Survey's field documentation has changed in the past years utilizing digital "penciling" on the iPad Pro, click here!

In order to reflect the evolution of computerized recording techniques since the Digital Epigraphy Manual’s release in 2014, the Epigraphic Survey initiated an update of its digital documentation guidelines. The venue selected to demonstrate these new tools and techniques was Luxor Temple, where the recording of the late Roman murals in the Emperor’s chamber has already produced promising results.

W. Raymond Johnson, director of the Epigraphic Survey, chose a sample scene based on the Survey’s plan to publish the Pharaonic reliefs within the same chamber. Photographic documentation of the Roman paintings was already complete, both in film and in digital format. Suitable contemporary photographs of the pharaonic reliefs, however, were not yet available.

As the fresco documentation progressed on the southeast wall, much of the area surrounding the Roman painted remains were also incorporated into the drawings for contextual purposes, using the regular Chicago method. Most of these drawings were penciled in the traditional way, by being drawn on photo enlargements, and were only transferred to digital format during the inking procedure.

For this reason, a drawing of a single wall segment to be created digitally from the beginning required a method fully compatible with the existing documentation system. The selected scene was registered as “LD 177” according to the Nelson numbering system for Luxor temple.

To be continued...⠀

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