Each October, a team from the University of Chicago's Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) returns to Luxor, Egypt, to continue their work on the Epigraphic Survey. This project has been ongoing for 100 years and involves documenting ancient hieroglyphs and reliefs on Egyptian monuments.

The Epigraphic Survey was founded in 1924 by James Henry Breasted, an Egyptologist who also established ISAC. Breasted developed a technique known as the Chicago House Method to record texts carved into temples and tombs without causing damage. This method combines photography with illustration to create accurate facsimiles of these inscriptions.

"The walls of those monuments are covered with incredibly important economic, religious and historical documents," said Egyptologist Emily Teeter. "But the problem is that these records are rapidly perishing through 3,000-years-plus of erosion, groundwater, vandalism and the pressures of tourism."

Over time, the mission of the Epigraphic Survey has expanded beyond documentation to include conservation efforts and training programs aimed at preserving Egypt's ancient history.

Luxor, historically known as Thebes, hosts many ancient monuments including Medinet Habu—a temple complex built over 3,000 years ago by Pharaoh Ramesses III. Breasted initially used photography to document these sites but found it had limitations. "When you take a photograph of the wall surface, it sees everything," explained J. Brett McClain, field director of the Epigraphic Survey.

Breasted's solution was to combine photography with illustration in what became known as the Chicago House Method. This process involves tracing photographs with pencil before redrawing them in ink to produce detailed replicas reviewed by multiple experts for accuracy.

Digital tools now complement traditional methods but have not replaced them entirely. These advancements have also facilitated broader access to their findings. "Everything that we publish is simultaneously published in hardcopy but also available as a free PDF," noted Teeter.

Environmental changes pose increasing threats to Luxor's monuments. Expanding agricultural areas have led to rising groundwater levels that erode stone surfaces. "The soft stone...is what makes them vulnerable," said ISAC Director Prof. Timothy P. Harrison.

Since the 1990s, grant funding and partnerships with Egypt's government have enabled conservation efforts such as dismantling and rebuilding deteriorating structures like ceremonial gates at Medinet Habu.

Despite challenges posed by salt erosion rendering inscriptions illegible over time, precise documentation remains crucial for preserving historical records even if original texts cannot be saved intact: "We may not be able...to save the actual monument," admitted Teeter; however they aim "to know what Egyptians were telling us."

Although thousands of inscriptions have been documented thus far—at least half remain insufficiently recorded or published—new technologies offer promising avenues for compiling data more effectively than ever before: “We know that our records are going preserve this information future,” concluded McClain adding how motivating it feels being part such endeavor."