Biography and Profile
Many years of expertise at Dra‘ Abu el-Naga
Since 2010, I have been working as a freelance scientific illustrator for the Dra‘ Abu el-Naga excavation project in Thebes, a project run by the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Office. Until 2025, the project was directed by Dr. Daniel Polz and has since been continued by Dr. Ute Rummel.
Over the years, a close, trusting relationship has developed with the entire team, and I have been entrusted with a wide range of illustrative tasks. In addition to producing facsimiles of decorated tomb walls in Theban burial complexes, my work has included the drawing of funerary stelae and painted ostraca, as well as the preparation of object, survey and construction drawings. The digital refinement of analogue source material to a publishable standard is also an integral part of my work.
My long-standing involvement in the excavation project at Qurna has enabled me to continuously develop my draughting skills both methodologically and technically. In recent years, I have also acquired extensive knowledge in working with the vector-based software ©Adobe Illustrator.
Recording the decoration of the courtyard of tomb complex K13.6 at Dra’ Abu el-Naga through facsimile drawing
© DAI Cairo, all rights reserved. Photo by Ute Rummel
Drawing a facsimile of a tomb wall in the long hall of Nebwenenef’s tomb (TT157)
© Photo by Pieter Collet
Early Steps in Scientific Illustration – Ramesside Project
My career as a scientific illustrator began in 2006 with my involvement in the Heidelberg Ramesside Project, directed by Prof. Dr Jan Assmann. In collaboration with the University of Leipzig and Prof. Dr Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert, the tomb complex of Nebwenenef TT 157 in the Theban necropolis was investigated.
During several excavation campaigns, I was able to produce facsimiles of the wall paintings in the longitudinal hall as well as of parts of the relief-adorned walls of the transverse hall. My remit also included the documentation of numerous small finds in the form of archaeological object drawings, which significantly shaped my ability to capture the visual nuances of different types of finds. The documentation, processing and analysis of small finds from the tomb complex of Nebwenenef (TT 157) also formed the basis of my Master’s thesis at the University of Leipzig.
Since then, I have worked for various excavation missions and have supported both large-scale research projects and smaller undertakings with the same care and precision.
Current Research
Alongside my work as a scientific illustrator, my current academic focus is on the study of ancient Egyptian furniture fragments from Draʿ Abu el-Naga. Within this framework, I conduct in-depth research into questions relating to the construction of furniture components, as well as their archaeological and art-historical contextualisation. Consequently, the graphic rendering of these findings in the form of reconstruction or exploded-view drawings is a key component of my research.
My doctoral thesis, “Informationsträger Möbel – Funerary Furniture from Draʿ Abu el-Naga”, was examined at Freie Universität Berlin by Prof. Dr. Jochem Kahl and Dr. Jan Moje, and was awarded magna cum laude on 22 January 2025. The completion of the doctoral process and the publication of the thesis are scheduled for early 2028.
Snapshot from my PhD defense at Freie Universität Berlin
© Dirk Mathesius Fotos
My academic and illustrative work is consistently understood as a combination of analytical precision and the visual translation of archaeological evidence. This approach shapes my work on both my own and external research projects in equal measure. The focus is not only on the quality of the drawings, but also on their scientific rigour. This working method has resulted in various commissioned drawings as well as my own research articles, which are documented in a separate list of publications.