So like Khaemweset, fourth child of Ramesses II (~1281~1225 BCE (side-note, I just noticed that dude had a long life)), noted as "the first Egyptologist" for preserving and restoring already-ancient monuments and temples and also record who built them and for what purpose.

Or maybe Pharaoh Thutmose IV about two centuries prior (~14th century BCE) who had Great Sphinx of Giza uncovered (it had been buried up to the neck by then) after having a dream under its nose and placed a carved tablet (now known as the Dream Stele) recounting the event between the Sphinx's paws.

Sorry this hits on one of my autistic fixations so I had to infodump that this actually happened in history, multiple times. Wikipedia says there were Ptolemaic-era restorations going on under both the Ptolemies and Romans (~3rd century CE) but without a citation and it's difficult to properly search for this topic online.