The December 2005 issue of the Royal Geographical Societies (UK) magazine Geographical has the Giza Pyramids on the cover relating to an article inside entitled “Time Travel: Why we keep going back to Ancient Civilisations”

History is repeating itself. After the sun, sea and sand mass tourism of the 20th century, travel to sites of historical interest, one of the prime motivations behind the Grand Tour, is back in vogue. And, as Tom Chesshyre discovers, today’s historical tourists are often just as well educated as their forebears.

Time Travel, Geographical Magazine, The Royal Geographical Society, Richmond, UK, Volume 77, No. 12, December 2005.

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By Zahi Hawass.

The term "site management" is often used today by Egyptologists and archaeologists, but very few people understand its meaning. They use this term because it sounds good, and also to show that they know it. Site management is a programme designed to protect archaeological sites through conservation and restoration training, and to meet tourist goals. I was fortunate to go on a scientific cruise with archaeologists from all over the world, from Tunisia to Greece, arranged by the Getty Conservation Institute. Site management was the topic of discussion. We explored theories and ideas to ensure that we conserve our historical sites; we debated and heard from the experts and learnt that for the most part they concentrated on the conservation of a tomb or a temple but neglected the surroundings — the general area of the site. We were left with the important question: how can we protect these sites?

First, we can say that site management must look at the site as a whole and not only focus on a single monument in the area that needs restoration. In addition, site management needs to look not only at the site itself but also at the personnel on the site. Most important is the protection of the site from adverse surroundings, and the establishment of a safe zone. This can easily be achieved by building a wall, unless the site will have natural protection. Then vehicles must be prevented from approaching the site. With safe zoning the parking should be at least five kilometres away from the site. At the entrance of the site we should have a visitors' centre to educate visitors about the history and archaeology of the site and give directions round the site that will enable the visitor to view the site in the proper way...

Dig days: Protecting history, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 770, November 24 - 30, 2005.

By Nevine El-Aref.

The black basalt Rosetta stone was found in 1799, a year after the French expedition to Egypt began, in a fortress located on the outskirts of Rashid by a young French officer named Pierre-François Bouchard. It measured 113cms tall, 75.5cms long and 27cms thick, and contained three distinct bands of writing. The most incomplete was the top band containing hieroglyphics; the middle band was written in the demotic script and the bottom was in Greek. Studies carried out on the stone by scholars revealed that the stone was a royal decree which stated that it was to be written in the languages used in Egypt at the time. Scholars began to focus on the demotic script, since it was more complete and resembled alphabetical letters rather than the pictorial hieroglyphs. This was essentially a shorthand form of hieroglyphics and had evolved from an earlier shorthand version of Egyptian called hieratic.

The first scholar to make any sense of the demotic script on the Rosetta Stone was a French linguist named Silvestre de Sacy, who succeeded in identifying the symbols which comprised the names "Ptolemy" and "Alexander", thus, establishing a relationship between the symbols and sounds. Using the Coptic language, Swedish diplomat Johann Akerblad was able to identify the words for "love", "temple" and "Greek" thus, making it clear that the demotic script was not only a phonetic script but it was also translatable...

Rosetta stone, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 770, November 24 - 30, 2005.

A massive restoration project is breathing new life into the long-neglected Rashid National Museum. Nevine El-Aref witnesses the preparations for the opening.

On the Rashid branch of the Nile, famous for its splendid Islamic buildings, stands the Arab Killy house — now the Rashid National Museum — with its moulded, grouted burnt bricks alternatively coloured red and black and its very fine mashrabiya (lattice woodwork) façade.

This 400-year-old residential house of Rashid's Ottoman governor is the largest house in the town, a three- storey building with a large ground-floor area. It reflects the tall style of architecture, construction and carpentry typical of the time. Designed to echo the Islamic style, the house contains, as well as its exquisite mashrabiya, decorative inscriptions, inlaid sea shell work, a ceiling dome and a densely-ornamented door.

In its heyday, the ground floor housed a storehouse with a cross-vaulted ceiling, a cistern and a sabil (fountain). The second floor, which was reserved for men, contains a courtyard surrounded by a number of rooms with windows of iron grilles. The third floor was similar to the second, but was the domain of the women of the household...

The rose of the Nile, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 770, November 24 - 30, 2005.

The Edward W Said Memorial Lecture was delivered on 1 November — the day that would have marked the Palestinian scholar's 70th birthday — by distinguished visiting professor David Damrosch, a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and most recently author of What is World Literature? (Princeton University Press, 2003). Damrosch, while warmly remembering his former colleague and reflecting on his legacy, paid Said the tribute of avoiding hagiography...

Oblique refractions, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 769, November 17 - 23, 2005.

cf. Edward W. Said Memorial Lecture at the American University in Cairo Transcript, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 769, November 17 - 23, 2005.

by Dr Joyce Tyldesley, covers the history of Egyptology, from the end of the Dynastic age to the present, beginning with little known Egyptians who investigated the country's ancient monuments to famous archaeologists such as Howard Carter, who uncovered the resting place of the boy king, Tutankhamen.

Dr Tyldesley, from the University's School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, said: "Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 sparked a huge interest in the country's ancient civilisations. Stories of lost treasure and mummies gripped the public's imagination and the world became obsessed with everything Egyptian. Explorers and collectors who went in search of Egyptian artefacts produced some of the first Egyptologists and a new area of scientific study. Amongst these 'explorers' are some of the most fascinating characters in modern history."

The book also looks at current archaeological research, such as underwater archaeology at Alexandria and the work of Dr Steven Snape in the excavation of Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham — that is now the centre of one of the biggest projects currently in progress in Egypt, a fortress-town built by Rameses II in the 13th century BC...

Egyptologist brings lost civilisation to life for television series, EurekAlert!, November 23, 2005.

Search for Joyce Tyldesley books at

Search for Joyce Tyldesley books at