Recently, I contacted the Mubarak Institute for Scientific Research in Alexandria and we began to work with Prof. Dr. Ayman el-Dessouki and his team at the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences to perform laser scanning at the sphinx. These advanced scanners record an object’s distance, colour and roughness, and, by using multiple scans, create a detailed record of the object being scanned. In order to take multiple scans at Giza, the team would set up their laser scanner at different locations around the plateau, even using cranes from the back of a fire truck, 45m high. This allowed them to create the most accurate plan of the Great Pyramid and Sphinx ever made. The results are accurate to less than 5cm, produced at high resolution, and most importantly, the process of data collection is non-destructive to the monuments.

This work is very accurate and very fast; it took us one month to scan the Pyramids of Giza, and now we are scanning their interior chambers and shafts too. The team is also scanning the monuments on the East and West Banks of Luxor. As well as making scans from ground level, the team also conducted aerial scans by flying over the archaeological sites.

Before these most recent studies, we worked with a Japanese Team at Saqqara, who were laser scanning the Step Pyramid. Due to their excellent work we were able to begin restoration of the substructure and superstructure of this ancient monument.