Funerary scenes unveiled in a 4000 years tomb in Middle Egypt

Funerary scenes and inscriptions unveiled in the tomb of Baqet I in Beni Hassan in Minia.

During the re-cleaning of the 18-meters-deep burial shaft of tomb 29 of Baqet I of 11th Dynasty who was the ruler of the 16th nome, the Australian mission directed by Dr. Naguib Kanawati unveiled inscriptions and coloured scenes on the walls.

According to Dr. Aiman Ashmawi (Head of the Egyptian sector) the scenes are different funerary scenes including one shows the tomb owner giving offerings to Anubis.  

Dr. Naguib Kanawati said "The importance of this discovery because of the decorations of the walls which was not familiar during the Middle Kingdom which will open the door to re-studying the evolution of the decorations during the Middle Kingdom in general. Bessie the depiction of the deceased on the walls of his burial chamber adds to the importance of this discovery because it was rare in the Old Kingdom till it stopped in the end of the 5th Dynasty."

Mr. Gamal Semstawi (General Manager of Middle Egypt Antiquities) said "The inscriptions and scenes are not in good condition of preservation because of the floods and the the burial shaft was filled with debris. The mission is working on the needed restoration under the supervision of middle Egypt restoration department."

#Egypt #Minia #Egyptology #Archaeology #Restoration

13 more objects from Mallawi Museum are back

The Tourism and Antiquities Police arrested a man from Mallawi in Giza when he was trying to sell 13 artefacts belong to the looted museum of Mallawi.

This was the first person to be arrested over stolen objects from the museum as the rest of the retrieved artefacts were brought back by the local people.

A statue of God Djehuty, heads of terracotta figures and some stone tools were amongst the latest returned artefacts which makes a total of 457 objects returned so far. 

The First Antiquities survey since Napoleon’s campaign

Dr. Mostafa Amin announced the plan for a comprehensive survey of all land and sites owned by the Supreme Council of Antiquities or under the Antiquities protection law. The survey goal is to clarify if these sites host any antiquities in order to take legal procedures to take the sites or land which prove no antiquities value off the Antiquities sites survey.

Dr. Mostafa refereed that the last survey of the land and sites under the antiquities protection law was at the time of the French campaign on Egypt (1798-1801). He added that such a survey will help in the investment of the land where there is no antiquities as well as it helps to identify the land where there is antiquities that could be moved.

Dr. Mostafa Amin pointed out that he assigned Atef Abo El Dahab (Head of the Ancient Egyptian Department) to start immediately the survey and complete this work as soon as possible before presenting the results to the Permanent Committee in order for the SCA to reserve the interests of the owners of those lands, whether they are government or individuals.

This decision could help to put an end to many legal disputes between the SCA and individuals or other governmental agencies over land across Egypt and also give a better prospective to the SCA for the future plans to protect the sites that host antiquities.

Zahi discuss the immediate actions to remove the infringements on the sites in co-operations with the Armed Forces

After swearing in as a Minister of Antiquities (Monday 4^th April) in front of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Dr.Zahi Hawass held a meeting at his office (Tuesday 5^th April) to discuss removal all the infringements located in the archaeological sites territory that took place during the recent events according the assignment to him by Field Marshal Tantawi (Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and General Commander of the Armed Forces) supplying the assistance to fulfill the mission

During the meeting which was attended by delegates from the Armed Forces, the abuses that took place in the central region which includes Greater Cairo, Saqqara, Dahshour, were reviewed and the practical steps to eliminate violations were discussed.

Dr. Sabry Abd El Aziz stated that a meeting will be held on Wednesday (6^th April) in co-operation with the Armed Forces to discuss the violations against sites in some governorates like Helwan,Fayoum,Beni Suef,Minia beside Cairo,Giza and Kaloubiya according to the committees reports to set a timetable for the urgent actions to immediately removal of these infringements.

Dr. Sabry also said that later meetings will discuss the infringements in the other governorates of the country and set a scheduled plan to remove them.   

From Egypt to Germany : It's home time for Nefertiti

 The Supreme Council of Antiquities announced today that Secretary General Dr. Zahi Hawass has sent an official request that the bust of the famous Queen Nefertiti be returned to Egypt.  This request was approved by the Prime Minister of Egypt, Dr. Ahmed Nazif, and Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, after four years of research by a legal committee composed of famous legal personnel and Egyptologists.

The request letter was send to Dr. Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin.  This foundation is the governing body of all state museums in Germany, including the Neues Museum, where the Nefertiti bust is currently located, accessioned as Inventory No. AM 21300. In addition, a copy of the letter has been given to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cultural Department to forward on to the Egyptian Ambassador to Germany who will, in turn, send it to Dr. Parzinger. The SCA has sent a third copy of the letter to the German Ambassador to Egypt.

On December 6, 1912, Ludwig Borchardt and his team at el-Amarna excavated this bust of Queen Nefertiti in the workshop of the court sculptor, Thutmose. It is clear from all the records that Borchardt recognized immediately the unique nature and artistic quality of this piece, as well as its historical importance. 

Dr. Hawass said that this request is a natural consequence of Egypt’s long-standing policy of seeking the restitution of all archaeological and historical artifacts that have been taken illicitly out of the country, especially those items that are considered unique. The painted bust of Nefertiti is universally recognized as a unique and irreplaceable artifact. The bust is first on the “Wish List” of five important objects that Egypt hopes to have returned, as announced on April 8th, 2010, at the Conference on International Cooperation for the Protection and Repatriation of Cultural Heritage.

Dr. Hawass and the Government of Egypt is confident that the German authorities will act in accordance with article 13(b) of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), which calls on all states party to the convention “to ensure that their competent services cooperate in facilitating the earliest possible restitution of illicitly exported cultural property to its rightful owner.”  In this context it should be pointed out that in 1978 the Director General of UNESCO issued A Plea for the Return of an Irreplaceable Cultural Heritage to those who Created it, and called upon “those responsible for preserving and restoring works of art to facilitate, by their advice and actions, the return of such works to the countries where they were created.”

After World War II, Egypt made another formal request, this time to the Allied Control Council, who at that time was responsible for art objects in Germany. The Legation of His Majesty the King of Egypt at Prague sent a memorandum, dated April 14, 1946, to the Allied Control requesting the repatriation of the Nefertiti head, which was followed up by an official request from the Egyptian Ambassador to the US Secretary of State, dated February 21, 1947. On March 8, 1947, the Allied Control answered that they did not feel that they had the authority to make this decision, and recommended that the request be made again after a competent German Government had been reestablished.

Egypt recognizes, and appreciates, the care and effort undertaken by the Government of Germany to preserve and display the painted limestone bust of Queen Nefertiti. Inspired by the excellent relations between our two countries, the Government of Egypt is confident that the German authorities will assist in facilitating its return. The Government and People of Egypt are eager that this unique treasure be returned to the possession of its rightful owners, the Egyptian People.  Dr. Hawass added that the bust of Nefertiti, upon its return, will be exhibited at the Akhenaten Museum in Minya opening in early 2012.