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Can Egypt Protect its Ancient

Monuments?
As those of you who have followed my website know, there was some
looting and land grabbing, and even the Egyptian Museum was
vandalized and robbed. At one point, I myself resigned in protest when I
felt that the authorities were not doing enough to protect our
monuments. However, the situation was never as bad as many of the
unconfirmed reports had implied, and it is now greatly improved.
Hundreds of artifacts stolen from one magazine in the Delta were
returned, and almost half of the objects stolen from the Egyptian
Museum have been recovered. The army is backing up the authority of
the Ministry of State for Antiquities -- only last week, the army removed
a newly-built cemetery and mosque above ancient Memphis, and are
continuing to support MSA work to reclaim our sites.
One of the most heartening things about recent events was the extent
to which regular Egyptians were willing to go to protect their cultural
heritage. Yes, there were many vandals and thieves who took
advantage of the unrest for personal gain, but there were also many
people who stood up against them. When the Egyptian Museum was
attacked, young protesters formed a human chain around it to protect it.
In some remote sites, local villagers took it upon themselves to organize
patrols to scare off would-be looters. If this revolution, with the resulting
power vacuum, had happened anywhere else, I think that the vandalism
and theft would have been much more extensive, as it was, for
example, in Iraq.
I have been distressed by recent reports that exaggerate the damage
done to our antiquities, and by unwarranted criticism of our policies and
actions. Yes, the MSA faces many challenges and difficulties, and the
path ahead will not be easy. As was the case before the revolution, we
are confronted by many threats, from pollution and the rise of the water
table, to land-grabbing and looting, to mass tourism. But our critics
should know that we have been tackling these issues for many years
now, and have made enormous progress already. I believe that the
positive actions taken by many Egyptians, and the willingness of the
army to step in quickly, are due to a large extent to the hard work we
have been doing over recent decades to educate our population about
the importance of our past, and to protect and preserve our shared
cultural heritage.
I would like to remind everyone of just some of the many actions we
have already taken to protect our monuments, and to build a better
infrastructure for the future:
During my tenure as the head of the Antiquities Service, we built 47
new storage magazines across the country. Although some of the
older ones were targeted in the Revolution, these new ones were
safe.

Much has been done in recent years to professionalize the Antiquities
Service, and Egyptian archaeology now involves a great many
more Egyptians. I have launched training programs for the
Ministrys 32,000 employees, in areas such a systematic
excavation techniques, database management, and other skills
necessary for the administration of Egypts heritage.
Site management programs have been drawn up for most of the sites
most heavily visited by tourists. Great improvements have been
made to the Valley of the Kings, for example, which now has an
emergency plan for the tombs, and we plan to build a visitors
center near the newly-renovated and repurposed Howard Carter
Rest House/Museum; close to this visitors center will be replicas
of some of the most vulnerable tombs, several of which are
currently closed to preserve them.
22 new museums are being built across the country, most importantly
the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) at Giza, which will open in
2015, and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)
in Fustat. The new Akhenaten Museum in el-Minya has recently
been finished.

8000 guards have been employed to protect archaeological sites and
monuments. They are well paid and receive training from the
Security Department.
Egyptian laws for the protection of antiquities have been strengthened
and antiquities inspectors have been put in place at every border
crossing and port to identify and stop those attempting to
smuggle artifacts out of the country. Since 2002, over 5000
objects have been repatriated from all over the world, many with
the help of agencies such as the US Department of Homeland
Security, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.
A major national project to re-survey and map all archaeological sites
has been running since 2005; this project is working to redefine
site boundaries and make sure that proper buffer zones are in
place.
A new database of sites, monuments, and objects is currently being
designed; this is planned to manage information about all of
Egypt's sites and monuments, objects in museums and storage
magazines, and will even include archival documents. This will
eventually be a major on-line resource, available world-wide.
Further information:

ress Release -Meeting with Berlin
Museum Director
A meeting was held today at the offices of the Supreme Council of
Antiquities between Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA,
and Dr. Friederike Seyfried, Director of the Aegyptisches Museum und
Papyrussammlung in Berlin, to discuss the Bust of Nefertiti.

The infamous bust of Queen Nefertiti, the beautiful wife of the controversial King
Akhenaten. (Image: SCA)
Dr. Seyfried presented Dr. Hawass with copies of all of the key
documentation held by the Berlin Museum concerning this iconic piece.
This includes the protocol of January 20, 1913, written by Gustave
Lefevre, the official who signed the division of finds on behalf of the
Egyptian Antiquities Service, as well as excerpts from the diary of
Ludwig Borchardt, the excavator of the piece. These materials confirm
Egypts contention that Borchardt did act unethically, with intent to
deceive: the limestone head of the queen is listed on the protocol as a
painted plaster bust of a princess. Borchardt knew, as his diary shows,
that this was the queen herself; he also knew that the head was of
limestone covered with plaster and painted, not simply of plaster, as this
was clearly visible through inspection of the piece itself. It seems that
there was an agreement between Borchardt and Lefevre that all the
plaster pieces (which included an important group of plaster masks of
the royal family at Amarna) would go to Berlin, and this appears to have
been one way that Borchardt misled Lefevre to ensure that the bust
would also go to Berlin.
As director of the Berlin Musem, Dr. Seyfried does not have the
authority to approve the return of the head to Egypt, but will act as
liaison between Dr. Hawass and the relevant German officials, Dr.
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage
Foundation, and Dr. Bernd Neumann, Minister of State for Culture.
Based on the information currently in the possession of the Supreme
Council of Antiquities, Dr. Hawass will call a meeting of the National
Committee for the Return of Stolen Artifacts this week, which will then
make a formal request for the return of the Bust of Nefertiti.
Further information: Berlin's Nefertiti Trouble
Further information: Press Release - Talatat Block Bearing a
Possible Image of Nefertiti Discovered at Sheikh Ibada

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