The Foundation has been funding a seven-year project to clean and restore the astronomical ceiling of the Temple of Khnum at Esna. The work is being undertaken by a team under the joint supervision of Professor Christian Leitz of the University of Tübingen in Germany and Hisham el-Leithy of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. The cleaning and restoration is approximately half-way through. The 2000 years of soot from campfires had preserved the colours underneath very well, and the colours being revealed are clear and bright. Much is also being revealed about ancient Egyptian astronomy. The temple was recently visited by the Egyptian Prime Minister, as a result of the widespread interest in the Esna temple, and the considerable numbers of tourists who have begun to visit the site and stare at its revealed beauty.

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