Aliaa Ismail

Director, Theban Necropolis Preservation Initiative, Cairo

The Egyptologist Aliaa Ismail is responsible for producing large-scale 3D scans of the Valley of the Kings using a Lucida 3D scanner. She is currently working on the Tomb of Seti I. Part of the work includes training a team of local operators in 3D recording, data processing and archiving at the initiative’s training centre, which is also run by Ismail. The replicas are intended to offer public access to fragile heritage spaces that need greater protection and also help researchers better understand, document and preserve these important heritage sites. Ismail’s work has been featured in National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt and Secrets of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on Channel Four.