I am not sure whether many tombs are located in karst environments, but the site of Dayr a-Barsha (governorate of Minia), where my team carries out an archaeological project, certainly is such an environment. I would be glad to help.

With best regards,

Harco Willems

Ok I am ready.my friend

That is an excellent, and very interesting, question! I wish I knew, but I have recently found an interest in speleothems.

The growth rate of speleothem may not be substantial inside any tomb (if there are any exists) given the time between the tomb constructions and modern day. Secondly, the environment inside the tomb may not be a closed system, which will make any speleothem study critical.

In addition to Shrijaya Dey, I believe the desert environment in at least middle and upper Egypt will certainly not favor the formation of speleothems. Regarding calcareous speleothems, they form by carbonate dissolution reactions and following precipitation. This process requires an abundant supply of water which to my knowledge won't be easily found at the desert fringes where most tombs are positioned.

Following

Dear Dr. Jacobson,

There are speleothems in tomb TT 33 (mainly in room XIII), located on the west bank of Luxor (Asasif necropolis), dated to the 7th Century BC.

- Some speleothems can be distinguished on this photo (ceiling) :

http://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/2015/02/26/01008-20150226ARTFIG00140-egypte-le-mystere-de-la-tombe-33.php

- Maps of the tomb :

https://tombett33.hypotheses.org/plans-tt-33

- Location of the tomb :

search for "TT033" : https://scgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=cff7333a8b61461eb9d438d91c93ff61

- Geological context of the Theban Necropolis (Tarawan Chalk) :

http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/8078/

Yours sincerely,

Isabelle Régen.