WATANI International
1 May 2011
A seminar on “The future of Archaeology in Egypt” was recently held in Cairo’s Beit al-Sinnari, a splendid 18th-century house which was renovated by the Culture Ministry in the 1990s. Today it is affiliated to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) and is used as a venue for cultural events. The seminar was attended by Egyptian archaeologists from different fields, who called for the foundation of a syndicate for archaeologists to help them carry out their mission.
Not to criticise
“The purpose of this seminar is not to criticise individuals, but to envision a plan for the development of archaeological work,” said Wagdi Abbas, the seminar’s facilitator.
The event began by honouring the archaeologist Mohamed Abdel-Rahman for his role in tracking and retrieving 12 artefacts stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the 25 January Revolution. Khaled Azab, head of Beit al-Sinnari, said the BA was the first to honour the young archaeologist; the credit for retrieving the lost antiquities was first thought to belong to the Tourist Police.
Abdel-Rahman, a young archaeological supervisor on a temporary contract to the State, told how he pursued the thieves despite threats on his life and the lives of his family members. An urgent recommendation was presented to the Minister of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, suggesting that Abdel-Rahman be granted a long-term contract.
Human shield
According to Aly al-Asfar, head of the Pyramids Antiquity Department, the thefts that occurred on the evening of 28 January were minimal, considering the overwhelming security absence. Asfar quoted UNESCO as having declared: “If not for the human shields around archaeological sites, Egypt’s great archaeological wealth would have been drained.” Asfar called for empowering the security apparatus to protect antiquities rather than expecting archaeologists themselves to assume this role.
Azab pointed to a glitch in the system of keeping, storing and insuring antiquities, a system which he considered sub-standard. “The Tourist Police merely exercises its authority over archaeological touristic sites,” he commented. Azab also denounced the Tourist Police exploitation of the antiquities department money for what he claimed were personal benefits, while at the same time failing to secure archaeological sites. “In the end, archaeologists themselves assume the responsibility for archaeological thefts even though they have no syndicate or union to defend their rights,” he said.
Egyptianising archaeology
The seminar called for ‘Egyptianising’ the archaeological renovation and excavation work taking place on Egyptian soil, activities currently monopolised by non-Egyptian missions. For that purpose, attendants called for the foundation of a specialised archaeological renovations school.
Azab denounced the attitude of some foreign Egyptologists who refuse to translate their scientific papers into Arabic, which he found “astonishing”. He called for revising the curricula of archaeological schools and faculties, from which biological archaeology and environmental archaeology syllabuses are currently absent.
He called for expanding scientific research, adopting new archaeological technologies and founding non-conventional research centres
“Considering the deficiency in Egyptian universities when it comes to museum sciences, it is advisable to regularly send the museums’ managerial staff for training in relevant specialised centres outside Egypt,” he said.
Take care of the archaeologists
Azab stressed that more care should be given to Egyptian archaeologists, especially regarding medical insurance for those working on hazardous archaeological sites which makes them vulnerable to eye, skin and respiratory diseases.
While Egypt holds to its name some 200 high-calibre archaeologists who can represent Egypt, Azab pointed out that there was no plan on behalf of the archaeological institution to develop such calibres and push them in the direction of public life.
He also criticised the insistence on assigning all the managerial posts in the previous Supreme Council of Antiquities to university professors, since this, predictably, bred frustration among young archaeologists. He stressed the importance of revising pay scales and of only appointing specialised archaeologists, denouncing the marginalisation of Egyptian Egyptologists from the New Egyptian Museum project in favour of other non-specialised employees. He also drew attention to the marginalisation of archaeologists of Islamic and Coptic antiquities.
Some renovated, some demolished
Azab confirmed that despite these difficulties the field of archaeology had witnessed great development in recent years, as obvious in the meticulous renovation projects that had been applied to the once run-down but magnificent buildings in Cairo’s Coptic and Islamic quarters.
He condemned, however, the manner in which 20th-century buildings and old villas and palaces are often demolished to make space for high-rise buildings.
“It is important to come up with a prompt national strategy to deal with archaeological administration in Egypt,” Azab said. He would also like to see a decentralisation of decision-making concerning the Egyptian museums, and stressed the essentiality of managing museums through boards of directors.
Income from shops
According to Azab, Egypt’s revenue from its antiquities was still too low. “It should represent a reasonable ratio of the national income,” he said. “It is not reasonable to import imitations of Egyptian antiquities from abroad. We should not ignore the basic traditional skills which can very well serve the archaeological institution.”
Azab drew attention to the British and the Metropolitan museums, whose main source of income come from selling souvenirs and brochures. He said Egyptian museums lacked such materials. This was obviously an exaggeration since the shelves of museum shops in Egypt do carry such books; significant among them are beautiful works by Farid Attiya in half a dozen languages, including Japanese.
Azab suggested that specialised bodies could manage publications and souvenirs of the museums—he disregarded, however, the vital role played by the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) in this regard. CULTNAT is one of the BA institutions, it aims at applying the latest technological innovations to document Egypt’s cultural heritage.
Local museums
Azab called on the relevant authorities to conduct new feasibility studies of prospective archaeological projects, taking into consideration cultural, economic, archaeological and social factors. He considered the Kafr al-Sheikh regional museum to be a great failure.
However Mohamed Abdel-Rafie, general manager of Kafr al-Sheikh antiquities disagreed, replying that the governorate of Kafr al-Sheikh and its people were entitled to a museum that highlighted their past. Kafr al-Sheikh on the North Delta, he said, had played a vital role in ancient and modern Egyptian history.
There was broad interaction between the participants, most of whom were young archaeologists who demanded that the BA help activate the recommendations suggested in the seminar.
Some broached the issue of corruption inside the technical bureau of the ministry and demanded that Hawass swiftly dissolve the bureau and investigate its corrupt members. Gamal Mustafa of the technical bureau claimed that the corrupt individuals retreated when the old regime fell.