Global Arab Network | Archaeologists: Stolen Antiquities Conference - Fighting for our Heritage

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Archaeologists: Stolen Antiquities Conference - Fighting for our Heritage

Monday, 26 April 2010 21:31

Egypt -In April we held a very important conference in Cairo concerning looted antiquities, where we gathered countries together to discuss problems that each country faces, and try to find solutions.

This conference was very important, the idea was to have many countries come together and meet in Cairo for the first time to talk about this problem. It was in my mind for the past 8 years, but I never thought it could happen. We invited 30 countries, and 16 registered, but when the conference began, 25 countries showed up. I was very glad that so many countries were able to participate; this shows how many countries have been affected by the problem of illegal excavation and trafficking of antiquities.

The conference sessions were very good, and we discussed the problems that each country faces and how they have been handling them. The sessions were chaired by Dr. Elena Korka from Greece and Dr. Jeannette Papadopolous from Italy, as well as Ambassadors Raouf El-Reedy, Nabil El-Araby, and Waguib Hanafy, and Dr. Ali Radwan from Egypt. These Ambassadors are from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt, and they have much experience in foreign relations, which is why it was important for them to attend and give their experience to this international gathering.

When I gave my speech at the close of the conference, I asked all the countries attending to cooperate for the first time, so that we can send a message to the world, that we will not fight alone, but we will all fight together for our heritage. We each made a wish list of items that have been taken from out countries that we want back. Seven of the countries that came made a wish list. Egypt’s wish list includes the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, the Nefertiti bust in Berlin, the Zodiac ceiling in the Louvre, the statue of the Hemiunu in Hildesheim, the statue of Ankh-haf at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the statue of Ramses II in Turin. I was glad that other countries also brought their wish lists, for example, Greece wants the Parthenon marbles back from the British Museum. If we work together, I think we can overcome the problems of looting. We have decided to hold a conference like this every year, and hopefully we can help each other in our struggle to preserve our heritage.

In association with the conference, we opened an exhibit at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on Returning Stolen Antiquities. The exhibit featured artefacts that had been returned to Egypt in the past few years, including the coffin of Imesy that recently returned from Miami, and the head of Amenhotep III. Around the artefacts were panels that describe the problems of looted antiquities and the solutions that Egypt has implemented, along with stories of success, such as the Imesy coffin and stories of artefacts we are still trying to get back, such as the mask of Ka-nefer-nefer that is still in the Saint Louis Art Museum. This exhibit is very well done, and I think it will be very good for everyone who visit the Egyptian Museum to see it, and see what Egypt has done to restore our heritage.

By Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General, The Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt

For More Archaeological News click HERE

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Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Global Arab Network