Covid-19 has spread rapidly around the world since the spring of 2020. Due to the quick spread of the infection, Japanese experts of the GEM-JC Project could not travel to Egypt for more than a year. However, since the summer of 2021, as the number of people infected in Japan gradually declined, normal life is returning.
Accordingly, in October 2021, Dr. Takefumi Oishi and Dr. Masataka Kagesawa, experts in charge of the ARVR system development, visited the GEM-CC and discussed the specifications with Dr. Hussein Kamal, Project Manager and the director of GEM-CC, and other Egyptian experts. They also carried out activities such as scanning the target of artifacts. In November, Ms. Maiko Shimizu, a public relations specialist, and Dr. Kumi Masuda, an expert on wall painting conservation, traveled to the site. Dr. Masuda worked with Egyptian experts to diagnose and conserve the wall paintings. In the future, more Japanese experts of wood, wall painting, textile, and management will travel to Egypt to conduct their activities.
Japanese experts will continue to visit the site as much as possible to work with Egyptian experts in conserving the artifacts until the conclusion of the GEM-JC project in February 2022.