Egypt received on Tuesday a rare antique made of alabaster with hieroglyphic inscriptions.

The antique had been taken by an American national from a tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor in 1958.

The piece has been retrieved almost 50 years after its disappearance, said Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities...

At the end of this article it states “Hawass had written an article in an American newspaper on Egyptian monuments stolen abroad.”   Does anyone know which article this is referring to?

Egypt retrieves artifact taken by American, State Information Service, Egypt, July 20, 2005.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities said that Egypt would harvest $36 million from the tour of Tutankhamun's exhibition in four American States.

He said that the golden pharaoh managed to fascinate the American people again 26 years after the first exhibition.

This came in a symposium titled "Tutankhamun invaded America" organized by Mubarak's Public Library in Giza.

He said that the number of the exhibition visitors in Los Angles reached 10,000 a day while the price of a ticket jumped to $30 in the weekend.

$36m returns of Tut's tour of four American states, State Information Service, Egypt, July 19, 2005.

Egypt has requested the Museum of Archaeological Institute and Art History of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and the FitzWilliam Museum at Cambridge University, UK, to return two paintings, which were stolen 40 years ago.

Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said that the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) had located the two paintings through a secret report filed by a foreign archaeologist.

The paintings, Hosni said, were stolen from two tombs in a cemetery, which dates back to the 4th Dynasty, in the Pyramids area...

Bid for return of 2 ancient paintings, State Information Service, Egypt, July 18, 2005.

A letter to the editor of Al-Ahram.

Sir— Zahi Hawass is correct (Al-Ahram Weekly 14-20 July).   In this enlightened age each country should expect the return of their artefacts that are residing in foreign countries.   Egypt especially has artefacts of such importance that the practices of the past — removing artefacts for personal fame or gain — should be reconciled in a civilised manner.   Thank you for such an important article.

Laura Byrd
Washington
USA

Reader's corner: Give them back, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 752, 21 - 27 July 2005.

UNESCO has announced that Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley) in the Fayoum Desert will be designated the first natural heritage spot in Egypt and one of the most important in the world, reports Mahmoud Bakr.

The decision, taken unanimously on Thursday last week, was made by UNESCO's International Heritage Committee at a meeting in Durban, South Africa.

The Whale Valley fossils, in Egypt's Western Desert, show the evolution of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal.   Whale fossils can be found at Wadi Hitan, which has a unique ecosystem of waterfalls, moist lands and rare fossils, that show animals in the last stages of losing their hind limbs.

Minister of Environment Maged George said the Egyptian government had put a programme in place to protect natural reserves in an attempt to place them on the international tourist agenda.

In collaboration with the Geological Museum and the University of Michigan, the Ministry of Environment wants to restore the skeletons found in Wadi Hitan to conduct more research and train able staff for future restoration.   A plan has also been devised with the help of the Egyptian-Italian Cooperation Programme to preserve the valley.

Twenty-four reserves covering 10 per cent of Egypt have been designated protected areas. The number is expected to increase to 40 by 2017.

Newsreel: Environmental pride, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 752, 21 - 27 July 2005.

By Hassan Saadallah

• A booklet on Sinai antiquities including a survey of Islamic fortresses and Coptic monasteries is to be released soon by the SCA.   The book is to be edited by Abdul Rehim Rihan, director of Dahab Antiquities.
• Some LE 40 million is allocated for the development of Port Said Museum.   Under the upgrading project, stored items are to be put on display.
• The concrete tiles of the Luxor Temple Avenue have been replaced with stone ones better suit their surroundings.
• Remains of a well, a basin and water canals have been recently discovered at Shikhoun Mosque in the area of the citadel.   They originally occupied about two thirds of the mosque area.
• The cave of Abi Serga church at Misr Al Qadima, which is considered one of the important sites visited by the Holy Family during their flight from Roman oppression, has been treated for the effects of rising underground water.
• The American Research Centre is currently registering the icons and murals of the Red Monastery in Assiut.
• The Sunken Antiquities Administration in Alexandria is cooperating with Southampton University in drawing a map of archaeological sites on the shores of Mareotis Lake on the north coast.
• The International Papyrus Institute in Italy has offered a £50,000 grant for the first papyri restoration laboratory in the Middle East.   The laboratory is part of the Egyptian Museum.
• Egypt has recently retrieved from France a 31 kg stele dating from the reign of Psamtik I of the 26th dynasty.   It originally came from the Temple of Isis on the Giza Pyramids Plateau.

News in brief , The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, July 21, 2005.

By Hassan Saadallah

The Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) has approved the retrieval of the old Alexandria Lighthouse gate from the Mediterranean seabed at Al Selsela Bey.   This is in support of the Director of the Alexandrina Bibliotheca, Dr Ismail Serag Eddin, who suggested using the 3x6 metre gate at the entrance of the park facing the Bibliotheca.

Supervising the salvaging process is a group of archaeologists from Marseille University and the French Alexandrian Studies Centre.

The lighthouse was built of stone quarried from Al Max in western Alexandria, and was then ornamented with marble and bronze. It had a number of columns which were carved from granite brought especially from the quarries of Aswan.   Remains of these granite pillars were found submerged in the vicinity of the Qaitbay Citadel.

Built between 285-246 BC by Sostratos in the reign of Ptolemy II, it remained in function until the Islamic conquest of Egypt in 641 AD.   The 135 metre high lighthouse was held on a square base. Its design followed a Babylonian pattern, taking the shape of eight towers one on top of the other decreasing in size.   The mirror on the top of the structure was the most magnificent of it features, being able to be seen miles out at sea.

The seabed of the eastern harbour in Alexandria is brimming with artefacts testifying to the grandeur of the city of Alexandria in the Ptolemaic and Greco-Roman age.   It is noteworthy that the Egyptian diver Kamel Abul Saadat was the first to draw the attention to the submerged treasure in 1961.   At the time a huge eight metre tall granite statue of a woman was lifted.   It was in 1994 that the French team, which is still engaged on the site now, excavated the remains of the lighthouse revealing the existence of about 12 pieces in addition to the main gate.

Alexandria Lighthouse gate to be lifted from seabed, The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, July 21, 2005.

By Hassan Saadallah

The Ministry of Culture plans to convert Red Sea archaeological sites into tourist attractions.   Accordingly, a comprehensive restoration plan is to be implemented along roads leading to these sites.

Khaled Saad, of the Pre-historic Antiquities Administration, said that the Red Sea is also distinguished for its natural features that compliment the archaeological sites.   For instance, there are many stone inscriptions by ancient Egyptians who travelled through this area on commercial or military journeys.

The Red Sea is also famous for its pre-historic antiquities such as Wadi Al Gimal, Marsa Alam, Sharm Al Louli and Wadi Al Gawasis.   Day after day excavations prove that these sites had been dwelled by inhabitants who traded in pre-historic times, said Saad.

Among the sites to be restored are the remains of the Roman-Byzantine Abu Shaara fortress.   The limestone fortress lies on the coast and was central for trade, storage, administration and military purposes.

In the West Desert, 500 kilometres south of Cairo, the remains of a Roman city exist.   While only rubble from walls and structures has survived, there are clear traces of roads, a water cistern and a stable.   It is most likely that this stable housed the oxen that were used to transfer stones to Qena.

To the north-west of the city a road leads to a temple dedicated to the god Serapis.   The city is surrounded by quarries for black and white granite which the Romans used for imperial structures and temples.   The site was uncovered in 1923 by two British archaeologists when they came across thousands of pieces of pottery inscribed in Greek and Latin referring to the craftsmen and technicians that came from Aswan.

Twenty-four kilometres south of Safaga lies in the destroyed settlement of Gawasis which dates back to the Third Dynasty.   The Alexandria University team working on the site have uncovered some stone anchors, Ankho chapel and a stele.   The stele tells the story of how ships were built in the Qaft shipyard but then moved in separate pieces to Gawasis where they were assembled and prepared for sailing.

Tharo is the old name of a harbour nine kilometres north of the modern city of Qosseir.   The harbour was once a hub of activity with Egyptian and North African pilgrims who used it as a transit point on their journey to Mecca.   It was also a stop for vessels on trading routes from India, the Far East and Africa.   Tharo remained in use from the ancient Egyptian times up until the Islamic age.

Bankassia is a Roman harbour, bearing the Latin name of Nechesia.   Most of the site's structures were made of gypsum which presented it in a beautiful white reflecting the sunlight which could be seen far out at sea.   Pottery chards found on the site indicate that Nechesia flourished in the Roman age from 30 BC to 600 AD.

The city of Om Al Fawakhir, built on mines and quarries, is one of the Red Sea's important archaeological sites.   It lies in the middle of the Qaft-Qosseir highroad and is a major site for goldmines and granite quarries.   It embraces simple small huts built of fragments of granite stones.   On the east side of the city there is a small temple from the reign of Ptolemy III.   The US team from Chicago University that worked on the site in 1992 drew maps of the city showing about 147 houses, storehouses, animal yards, workshops and toilets.

These are only examples of the many Red Sea sites which would be ideally suited for tourism.   However, significant restoration and promotion work would be needed before any returns.

Red Sea archaeological sites become tourist attractions, The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, July 21, 2005.