By Zahi Hawass.

Egyptian antiquities suffered a great deal from the amateurs and adventurers who dominated exploration in Egypt for several centuries.   Things improved enormously over the course of the 20th century, but until recently some people who were not qualified to excavate in Egypt were still granted concessions and allowed to run projects.   Philologists with no archaeological training were allowed to excavate, and even students who were not yet qualified were given concessions in Egypt.   Believe it or not, a group of American women with lots of enthusiasm but absolutely no training was permitted to excavate at Karnak only 19 years ago! Even more recently, French amateurs with no institutional backing were given permission to make holes in the Great Pyramid.

Two and a half years ago we made rules for everyone, both Egyptians and foreigners, to follow.   According to these rules, only professionals affiliated with reputable institutions are permitted to head projects in Egypt.   The purpose of these is not to scare off or harm anyone, but to protect our irreplaceable monuments and create a system to guide us all.   Everywhere else in the world there is a system, but, for some reason, when we implement a system here in Egypt to help manage our cultural heritage people object and complain...

[More]  Al-Ahram, Egypt, 725, 13 - 19 January 2005.

As prices of Egyptian antiquities auctioned abroad continue to rise, Jill Kamil considers the role smuggling continues to play in the trade.

So long as there is a demand for the produce, illegal excavations and the smuggling of antiquities will continue.  Unscrupulous connoisseurs are always on the lookout for interesting artefacts to add to their private collections, or to donate to the nation.  As a result, high quality relics are freely available on the international market, and interested parties are prepared to pay large sums in order to acquire the objects of their desire.  The appetite for Egyptian antiquities is undiminished, as is clear from a glance at the recent auction catalogues of houses such as Bonhams, Christie's or Sotherby's.

Of course, sales at reputable houses are carefully monitored by responsible professionals who ensure, as best they can, that they are handing only legal fare.  Details of the provenance of objects are provided, along with publication details of similar pieces, and a history of the movement of objects through the market. But the system is far from foolproof.

In 2002 a set of granite reliefs from the Temple of Isis at Beihbet Al-Hegara in the Delta turned up on the auction block at Christie's in New York.  They were recognised by French Egyptologist Christine Meeks, who had studied and documented the entire temple for her doctoral thesis, as those that had disappeared from the site eight years previously.  The sale was stopped, the objects withdrawn, and they have now been returned to Egypt...

[More]  Al-Ahram, Egypt, 725, 13 - 19 January 2005.

Eighty-three [years] after its discovery Tutankhamun's mummy may at last be revealing its secrets, writes Nevine El-Aref from Luxor.

Sunset in the Valley of the Kings.  All is well on the west bank.  It is, as usual, silent, a haven of peace and quiet.  And then, last Wednesday, the silence was broken by the arrival of a van equipped with a CT-scanning machine.  Its purpose was to find out exactly why Tutankhamun, that most celebrated of pharaohs, died.

The area was crowded with dozens of workers, scientists, technicians, archaeologists and restorers.  And they were all waiting for one thing.  Would the CT scan finally resolve the mystery surrounding Tutankhamun's death?

[More]  Al-Ahram, Egypt, 725, 13 - 19 January 2005.

Also some pictures can be found here.