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HAVE you heard of a place called Thebes?

Until I found a website called the Theban Mapping Project (thebanmappingproject.com/), I hadn't.

It turns out that Thebes is in Egypt, and it's considered to be a particularly precious place.

``With its thousands of tombs and temples, Thebes is one of the world's most important archaeological zones,'' the TMP site explained.

``Sadly, however, it has not fared well over the years. Treasure hunters and curio seekers plundered it in the past (while) pollution, rising ground water, and mass-tourism threaten it in the present. Today, however, we realise that the monuments of Thebes are a finite resource.

``The TMP believes that the first and most essential step in preserving this heritage is a detailed map and database of every archaeological, geological, and ethnographic feature in Thebes.

``Since its inception in 1978, the Theban Mapping Project (TMP) has been working to prepare a comprehensive archaeological database of Thebes.''

Dr Kent Weeks has spent decades mapping the burial place of Egypt's pharaohs at Thebes, which was once the capital of ancient Egypt, and in 2000 he and his colleagues published an atlas that mapped out the Valley Of The Kings.

``And it struck us at that time that it would be especially useful if, instead of just publishing a hard copy of the atlas, we could also put it up online,'' Weeks says of his inspiration for the mapping project.

``And so we established a website that put our atlas up, along with elaborately detailed descriptions of all of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

``And, as of last count, around 8500 colour photographs of the decorations on their walls.''

Email your favourite sites to nicholsonsa@qnp.newsltd.com.au