Trumped Up Charges?

The report that Egyptian customs officials have seized historical coins from a Sudanese citizen on his way to Australia should raise some questions.  First, the coins appear to be modern or though old, of little value.  Second, the claim they "were likely stolen from the Islamic museum" seems a bit odd.  Does the museum really hold such insignificant modern items in its stores?  Also, didn't prior reports suggest the museum was bombed not looted?  Finally, there is the fact that the perpetrator is Sudanese, a people who have suffered discrimination in Egypt.  Could this be little more than a story about customs officials finding some old coins on a passenger and jumping to conclusions to help justify the seizure?  One thing is for sure, such a story will provide little justification for efforts to impose US import restrictions on historic Egyptian coins of the sort widely and legally collected world-wide (except these days in Egypt).

Trophy Room Readied for Spoils from Egyptian MOU?

The Egyptian Museum is currently exhibiting artifacts repatriated from abroad in a temporary exhibition.  CPO is concerned the Egyptian Museum may be expanding this exhibition space dramatically, particularly if U.S. Customs construes any MOU as "allow[ing] the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to seize any Egyptian artefact entering the US as long as it does not have any official or legal documents showing that it left Egypt legally."  That's why it's so important to comment on the MOU on or before May 14th, "done deal" or not.  Can we really trust the bureaucrats to construe their enforcement authority any less broadly than their authority to promulgate import restrictions in the first place, particularly when Customs agents can and do seek more and more and more documentation to justify repatriations under the CPIA?

Time to Save Egyptian Antiquities?

The archaeological blogosphere has largely ignored the wanton destruction of artifacts in the Egyptian Islamic Museum.   And no wonder.  The bombing of the museum along with last year's burning of an important library and looting of several museums offer precious little support for the proposition that "emergency import restrictions" and the like should be implemented to repatriate artifacts to Egypt, including ones long out of that country.

If anything, all this instead supports the proposition that important artifacts-- particularly those from Egypt's pre-Islamic past--should be sent out of the country for safekeeping while duplicates of less important material are sold on the open market to raise funds to help protect the rest.   Collectors and Museums in the United States, Europe and the Gulf States will no doubt be willing to help.   So let's all support the protection of Egyptian antiquities by seeing them safely out of Egypt as quickly as possible.  It's as simple as that.  

Opportunists?

Islamic fanatics are burning mummies and churches in Egypt while the army and police are nowhere to be seen.  Yet, unbelievably there are calls in the archaeological blogosphere for the United States to impose "emergency" import restrictions to expedite the repatriation of unprovenanced Egyptian artifacts back to Egypt.   Is this really about preserving Egyptian cultural heritage or taking advantage of the ongoing tragedy to further an anti-collector agenda?

He's Back....

Just when we thought he was gone, Zahi Hawass has been reappointed Egyptian Minister of Antiquities. See http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/8906/Egypt/Politics-/Hawass-is-persuaded-back-into-Egypt-Minister-of-An.aspx Presumably the serious allegations of corruption made against the SCA in general and against Hawass personally will now be swept under the rug. More evidence that Egypt's revolution is at best cosmetic. And, no doubt elements within US law enforcement, who have also hitched their own stars to the AIA, to Hawass and their repatriation efforts will also help discourage any US effort to ascertain whether corrupt Egyptian government officials dipped into the millions of dollars the US taxpayer has spent on Egyptian archaeology.

Some Pieces Recovered From Egyptian Museum Break In

There is finally some GOOD news out of Egypt; Egyptian police have recovered some artifacts stolen from the Egyptian museum. See
http://www.talkingpyramids.com/12-museum-pieces-recovered-snare/

If accurate, the report undercuts competing claims that the looting: (a) was an inside job by corrupt museum workers or police; or (b) the work of sophisticated criminals stealing artifacts "to order" for wealthy collectors from abroad.

Rather, the suspects seem to be unsophisticated locals who had hoped to take advantage of the unrest to "make a king's ransom" in cash.

Egyptian Authorities Investigate Hawass; Why No Investigation by American Authorities?

Al-Masry-Al-Youm, an Egyptian Newspaper, details allegations against former Antiquities Minister Hawass that are being investigated by Egyptian authorities. See
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/351660

The allegations are summarized as follows:

Abdel Rahman al-Aidy, chairman of the Central Administration of Middle Egypt Antiquities, and Nour Eddin Abd al-Samad, director general of the Department of Archaeological Sites, had submitted notifications to Egypt’s prosecution, accusing Hawass, the primary official responsible for Egypt’s antiquities since 2002, of covering up thefts of archaeological sites, wasting public funds, and signing an agreement with an American association that threatened the national security of Egypt by allowing the association to conduct studies on certain ancient Egyptian kings.

The source also explains Hawass' denials of the allegations:

Hawass denied that the thefts of archaeological warehouses in Zagazig took place during his term, and said that they occurred under former Antiquities Supreme Council Secretary General Abdel Halim Nour Eddin.

He also said that thefts of antiquities or archaeological sites are the responsibility of the antiquities police, inspectors and heads of sectors. He pointed out that the role of the secretary general is regulatory, managerial, and in charge of following-up on the work of the council and reporting any negligence.

He denied signing an agreement with the American Geographical Society (National Geographic). Rather, he claimed that it was protocol whereby Egypt received a cat scan machine worth US $5 million for Egyptian scientists to conduct research on the mummy of Tutankhamun, in return for National Geographic to film the scientific work. At the time, National Geographic was to pay an additional US$60,000 to the treasury of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

While all this is well and good, shouldn't US investigators also look into whether US taxpayer dollars or payments made by US museums for exhibitions and the like were spent to support Egyptian archaeology as intended rather than diverted for personal gain of Mubarak cronies?

USAID has spent $100 million on Luxor alone in partnership with the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute! See
http://egypt.usaid.gov/en/Programs/Pages/antiquities.aspx These are not insubstantial sums, particularly when there are far more pressing government programs benefiting the world's poor being cut. At the very least given what has come out about corruption in Egypt, the US taxpayer deserves some assurance that these monies were well spent.

U. Penn Does Egypt's Work For It

Kudos to the University of Pennsylvania Cultural Heritage Center for publishing this list of items missing from the Egyptian Museum and certain archaeological sites. See
http://www.culturalheritagelaw.org/Resources/Documents/Missing%20Egyptian%20Antiquities.pdf

Why the SCA-- turmoil or not-- could not put together its own such list for wide distribution is beyond me.

Addendum (3/15/11): Dorothy King (PhDiva) reports that the SCA has finally published its own list. See http://www.sca-egypt.org/eng/pdfs/Objects%20Missing%20from%20the%20Egyptian%20Museum_2011-03-15.pdf I haven't looked at it closely enough to determine whether it was just cribbed from the U. Penn list. In any case, better late than never.

Hawass: In or Out?

First, Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass offered conflicting reports of what was or what was not stolen from the Egyptian museum and archaeological sites. Now, there are conflicting reports of Hawass' resignation.

The New York Times reported yesterday that Hawass had resigned in another government reshuffle. See http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/egyptian-antiquities-chief-resigns/?scp=2&sq=Hawass&st=cse

Now, however, Egyptian sources state that Hawass has not resigned; instead he is threatening to resign to protest the army's and police's failure to protect Egyptian archaeological sites. See http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/6964/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/%D9%90Egypts-minister-of-antiquities-threatens-to-resig.aspx

Is this another Hawass publicity stunt? Is he hoping for his supporters to beg him to stay? If he goes, does he want the public to think it is only because he is putting the protection of Egypt's cultural heritage first? Who knows.

Hawass and the Egyptian Museum Gift Shop

The "Talking Pyramids" blog reports on former Antiquities Minister Hawass' efforts to steer a lucrative contract for the Egyptian Museum book shop to a company for which he was a director. The report details his efforts to undercut a competitor, violation of contracting procedures and refusal to follow a court order. See
http://www.talkingpyramids.com/zahi-hawass-museum-gift-shop/ At a minimum, the report, which admittedly is based on the account of the competitor for the franchise, suggests a troubling conflict of interest.

In any event, all this again suggests to me that US Federal Prosecutors should look into what actually happened to the millions of US tax dollars and franchise fees that were supposed to go to support Egyptian archaeology. If corruption was indeed rampant at the Mubarak era SCA as has been alleged, one has to also conclude it likely that substantial monies intended for archaeology actually were used for private gain.

Hawass Resigns

The New York Times reports that Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass has resigned his post, along with Egypt's Prime Minister, after listing for the first time dozens of sites that have been looted during the unrest related to Egypt's popular revolt. See
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/egyptian-antiquities-chief-resigns/?scp=2&sq=Hawass&st=cse

In resigning, Hawass attacked former colleagues who had criticised him.

Hawass' list of looted sites includes storerooms associated with the Met's digs in Dahshur, near Cairo. See http://www.drhawass.com/blog/status-egyptian-antiquities-today-3-march-2011

The Met's Director issued a statement calling on Egyptian authorities to do a better job in protecting archaeological sites in the country.

Hawass, the face of Egyptian archaeology, has been a controversial figure. On one hand, he helped popularize it and ensure that more Egyptian archaeologists worked on Egyptian sites. On the other hand, his heavy-handed repatriation efforts did not exactly promote cultural exchange, and even Egyptian archaeologists finally turned against him due to his dictatorial and credit stealing ways.

It is unclear whether Hawass' resignation will end any investigations of his alleged misconduct in office or instead encourage them further.

Hawass Watch: Will He Stay or Will He Go?

In a marked shift from previous statements, Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass has indicated that the government is not able to protect Egypt's ancient monuments and he is considering resigning from his post. See
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/egypt-antiquities-chief-says-he-may-quit/

Just recently, Hawass had stated on his blog,

Throughout this ordeal, there have been people who have been completely dishonest, and have tried, through their statements, to make the situation worse, in some cases by accusing me (in vague terms) of various inappropriate or even illegal behaviors. Of course, as even these people themselves know, none of these accusations has any basis in reality. When I was first appointed Minister of Antiquities Affairs, I thought my tenure might be very short, given the political situation. I did not care; I was only glad that the antiquities service had finally been given independence, and would no longer be under the Ministry of Culture. However, these attacks have convinced me that it is important for me to stay, so that I can continue to do everything in my power to protect Egypt's cultural heritage. I have written to Egypt's attorney general, asking him to look into some of the false accusations that have been made against me. I believe that addressing these issues will help stabilize the Ministry of Antiquities Affairs.

See http://www.drhawass.com/blog/uplifting-news

One of the comments to the New York Times report suggests Hawass' latest statements are really just a ploy to encourage his supporters in the archaeological community to beg him to stay. It will be interesting to see if Western archaeologists take the bait.

Hawass Asks for Egyptian Prosecutor to Exhonerate Him; More Investigations Needed to Ensure Taxpayer Money Not Lost to Corrupt Practices

Zahi Hawass has asked an Egyptian prosecutor to investigate allegations that he smuggled antiquities on behalf of the Mubarak family. See
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/7/6138/Egypt/Crime/Accusation-against-minister-of-antiquities-referre.aspx He professes to be confident that he will be exhonerated.

Hawass has apparently not asked for an investigation into whether public money was skimmed from his Ministry.

I think this charge needs to be investigated too. And not just in Egypt, but by federal prosecutors in the United States. The US Government has given millions in aid to Egypt to support Egypt's archaeological establishment; US Museums, the Discovery Channel, and National Geographic have given millions more for travelling shows and TV programs.

Egyptian and US taxpayers need some assurance that all this money was not misused in any fashion.

Hawass: The Debate Continues, Asset or Ass?

The fate of Zahi Hawass continues to be debated in the press:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/is-the-face-of-egyptian-culture-the-next-to-topple/article1913442/page1/

Most seriously, there have been allegations that funds have gone missing from Hawass' Ministry. See http://phdiva.blogspot.com/2011/02/problems-with-sca-in-egypt.html
USAID, US Museums, National Geographic and the Discovery Channel have all paid millions in foreign aid and payments for TV specials and travelling shows. Perhaps, there needs to be an investigation as to whether this money went to support Egyptian archaeology or the lifestyles of Mubarak cronies.

For now though, Egypt's military rulers will decide whether Hawass' international celebrity will save him from the fate of other Mubarak government ministers.

Meanwhile, in otherworldly archaeological circles there is the claim that recent events actually support continued repatriation. See
http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/nefertiti-and-parthenon-marbles.html

Hawass Misses Old Order

In a self-serving account of how the Egyptian museum was saved from extensive looting, current Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass also makes the following revealing statement:

"Once you would not dare to show no respect to a government minister, now they come and spit in your face if they do not like what they hear."

See
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/230114/Trick-that-saved-Egypt-s-treasure

Others might consider that lack of respect a reasonable demand for accountability.

Of course, it remains to be seen how accountable the new Egyptian Government will be to the Egyptian people. Only time will tell whether the army allows real reform or if any changes are just cosmetic ones.

Youngster Finds Lost Egyptian Museum Statue in Trash

AFP is reporting that a teenager found a priceless statue of Akhenaton from the Egyptian Musuem in the trash left over after the crowds left Tahir square. See
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/international/cairo-teen-finds-looted-pharaoh-akhenaton-statue-20110217-ncx

The statute has been returned to the authorities for restoration, but questions remain about why the statue was discarded.

To me at least, this supports the theory that the museum looting was actually done by Mubarak regime thugs bent on destruction in the hopes it would cause a backlash against the demonstrators.

Interesting Blog on Fate of Zahi Hawass

I came across this interesting blog on Zahi Hawass that touches on comparisons between him and Donnie George:
http://itsallkickingoff.posterous.com/egyptian-bust

More on Hawass Situation

For a German perspective, see
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/archaeologie-zahi-hawass-wut-auf-aegyptens-indiana-jones-1.1060732

And PhDiva has posted this Egyptian blog: http://phdiva.blogspot.com/2011/02/protest-at-supreme-council-of.html

CS Monitor on the Fate of Hawass

The Christian Science Monitor has written about why Zahi Hawass is so unpopular to many Egyptians. See
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2011/0214/Is-Indiana-Jones-the-next-victim-of-Egypt-s-revolution

We Won't Leave Until He Leaves

Egyptian protesters (who presumably work for the SCA) are apparently demonstrating outside the SCA against Zahi Hawass, chanting "We won't leave until he leaves."
See
http://yfrog.com/h33wjyj

Presumably they are fed up with Hawass' close ties to the Mubarak regime, his autocratic ways, the lack of security at the Museum and his taking credit for the work of others. Even more seriously, there also have been allegations that substantial monies have been skimmed off from receipts for the Museum gate and travelling shows.
See
http://phdiva.blogspot.com/2011/02/problems-with-sca-in-egypt.html