State of the Field 2016: Archaeology of Egypt – Fourth Session
September 24th, 2016
4:00 pm Fourth session – “Breaking political boundaries”: Introduction – Laurel Darcy Hackley (Brown University)
4:10 pm Monica Hanna (Arab Academy for Science and Technology) – Breaking Political Boundaries in Egyptian Archaeology
Since the events in 2011, a new form of advocacy related to Egyptian heritage has started. Due to the security vacuum and the political events, some of the sites, museums and storehouses were attacked and thousands of objects were stolen, as well as many archaeological sites illegally dug. Regular citizens in several parts of Egypt found themselves responsible for the security of many of the sites. Indeed, what made the difference to the fate of each site was how the local community reacted. For example, when the Armant prison, north of Luxor’s west bank, was opened and convicts were let loose in January 2011, the locals of al-Bu’airat and al-Qurna went out with their sticks and few rifles to protect the archaeological sites in the area. On the contrary, in the Memphite necropolis close to Abu Sir, Saqqara, Dahshur, and Lisht, villagers called in microphones for villagers to go out and loot. The same also happened to the urban heritage in many cities; several early twentieth-century buildings were brought down by contractors to build new constructions. The historic centre of medieval Cairo was also subjected to problems such as looting and thefts, destruction of buildings and illegal digging under the most important monuments. With the government not able to stop the widespread cultural desecration using their traditional methods, many groups have formed on their own to raise awareness of the problems and to put enough pressure on the political agenda of the Egyptian government in order to take action. Despite most of the efforts have had limited success compared to expectations, yet these groups have managed to create a very good public awareness of the different problems. They were even consulted when the new Egyptian constitution was being written in 2013 and were part in drafting article 50, aiming at the protection of Egyptian cultural heritage. The pressure these groups have created now gives them enough clout to change the future of Egyptian cultural heritage through collaborative efforts with the Egyptian government and international institutions.
4:30 pm Gerry Scott (The American Research Center in Egypt) – Addressing Economic and Social Needs through Cultural Heritage
Egypt’s recent revolution, with the resulting breakdown in stability, both real and perceived, brought various sorts of stress to different aspects of Egypt’s cultural heritage. Widespread looting of sites and museum break-ins and theft being widely reported. Another significant area of stress was the dramatic downward plummet of Egypt’s tourism sector, both an important component of the Egyptian economy and the major source of revenue for the Ministry of Antiquities. Luxor, in Upper Egypt, a town that relies almost solely on the tourist industry for its survival, was especially hard hit. This paper will examine an innovative project carried out by the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) and supported with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to offer employment, while at the same time continuing ARCE’s tradition of offering training for Ministry of Antiquities staff and conducting monument conservation. It will also describe some other related projects.
4:50 pm Response: Robert Preucel (Brown University)
5:10 pm Discussion
5:30 pm Closing: James P. Allen (Brown University)
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