Dig days:
The battle for the Rosetta Stone
By
Zahi Hawass
I was recently invited by the British Museum to deliver a lecture during the celebration of the museum's 250th anniversary. The British Museum has commendably close cooperation with Egypt, in particular one Vivian Davies who is active in the fight against antiquities theft and the protection of cultural heritage. He is the person who gave us the first solid clue into the remarkable theft of 24 papyri, leading to the conviction of Jonathan Tokely-Parry. Therefore, when they asked if I would be the guest speaker, I was happy to join in the celebration, and while I was in London I was interviewed by numerous reporters. I was troubled to learn that a certain reporter, who never bother to interview either Vivian Davies or myself to ascertain the facts, published a slanderous article about the policies of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in The Independent.
This article claimed that I demanded the return of the Rosetta Stone. In fact, all I did was to request a three month loan of the Rosetta Stone, so it could be put on display in its home country for a special exhibit allowing Egyptians without the means to travel to London the opportunity to see this unique and important artefact.
The writer of the article misled the public through deceit and by twisting the facts. I believe that this article was unjust, and it inspired me to tell people what actually happened. The article insinuated that the SCA is making things difficult, if not impossible, for foreign missions to excavate in Egypt. I do not deny that since I took my position as secretary-general of the SCA, we have established new rules and regulations for both Egyptian and foreign missions. The regulations that prohibit new excavations in Upper Egypt apply to both Egyptians and foreigners, and were created out of the urgent necessity to protect the monuments. It is critical that we channel our resources towards the restoration and conservation of the monuments that have already been uncovered, as well as site management programmes, before exposing new finds.
In the article, the reporter misleads his readers by the following misquote of myself: "If this (control of foreign archaeologists) is not done now, 100 years hence most of our marvelous monuments will be beyond repair." He added a parenthetical (control of foreign archaeologists), when my use of "this" in context was clearly referring to restoration and conservation, not control of foreign archaeologists! Also, we are encouraging excavation in the Delta where the water table is rising to an extremely high level and the monuments are in danger of being destroyed. The SCA is not discouraging foreign missions from working in Egypt. In fact, we have 300 foreign expeditions now excavating in Egypt, making new discoveries on a daily basis.
We only reasonably ask that the foreign parties follow the basic rules and regulations, for which some accuse me of being "power hungry". This is ridiculous -- my utmost priority is to protect the monuments of Egypt. Those archaeological missions currently in Egypt are scientific in their methods, and rigorously honest in their conduct, cooperating fully with all the rules, as they recognise the importance of this legislation for the protection of our monuments. However, those who are involved in antiquity buying, selling and trafficking or are connected to antiquity dealers are the ones with the most to lose from SCA policy. I suspect they are the ones that gave The Independent false information about the SCA and myself.
The article further said that SCA is expelling foreign Egyptologists without rhyme or reason. The reporter cited the example of Dieter Wildung, the German who recently fused the limestone bust of Queen Nefertiti to a bronze statue, claiming that this was why Wildung and his wife had been prohibited from further work in Egypt. This is completely wrong! In fact, Wildung's permit was revoked because the Egyptian authorities have incontrovertible evidence that he was involved in the illegal trafficking and buying of antiquities. The proof is a taped conversation between antiquities thieves; some of the Berlin Museum's artefacts stand witness to their guilt.
Another example of my so-called unjust treatment of foreign archaeologists referred to the recent announcement made by Joann Fletcher, saying that she had discovered the mummy of Nefertiti. The reporter wrote, "Hawass reacted furiously to Fletcher's announcement." I would like to set the record straight. Fletcher did visit the tomb of Amenhotep II in Luxor, conducting research on the mummies. Under the Antiquities Law all discoveries must be publicised through the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). However, Fletcher bypassed the SCA and made her announcement directly to magazines and newspapers worldwide, in direct contravention of Egyptian legislation -- this is what upset me. As far as her research is concerned, many theories have been made about these mummies in the past, and she based her dubious claim on unscientific evidence such as the mummy's pierced ears, which was common practice for the royal boys and girls of the 18th Dynasty. After X-ray examination it was determined that the mummy was of a girl about 15 -- 20 years old. It is illogical that Fletcher can believe that this is Nefertiti, who was known to have lived with Akhenaten for 12 years and bore six children.
Another point of this article that angered me was the idea that I see "cultural nationalism as a tool to appease the discontent of Islamic fundamentalists who argue that Egypt is too pro- western". This is completely ridiculous and insulting -- there is no one in Egypt who believes this tripe. Our president regularly proclaims to the world that the Egyptian monuments do not only belong to us but to everyone, as our shared human heritage. I cannot comprehend why The Independent published this article, but my guess is that one or two dishonest foreigners fed the newspapers these lies.
I am truly baffled as to why there was such an averse reaction to my request by some parties. I only asked for the Rosetta Stone to be shown in an exhibit in Egypt temporarily, and the British Museum regularly sends artefacts all over the world to be shown in special exhibits. I left Egypt with my colleagues to participate in a lecture at the British Museum, believing in a common, transnational goal of preserving our historical monuments and relics. Wouldn't it be nice if that were true for everyone?
