KEYNOTE
SPEECHNINTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF EGYPTOLOGISTS
Zahi Hawass
I am delighted to be a guest at this, the 9th Congress of the International Association of Egyptologists. I certainly find it easier just to show up than to organize the event! I especially want to thank the host committee for putting this Congress together, especially Professor Goyon and his team. I know the work involved. I am also pleased to offer as a gift to this congress this wonderful exhibition of twenty-two artifacts from the Karnak cachette. We bring this free of the customary fees in honor both of Legrain, discoverer of the cachette, and Jean-François Champollion, who was educated in Grenoble and spent much of his adult life here, and to show our support for this important organization. We thank you for giving us, in partial return, the chance to bring fifty hand-picked Egyptian scholars to France so that they can contribute in person to this international community.
I have been participating in the IAE for almost twenty-five years, and have the utmost respect for the founders and members of this illustrious organization. Its congresses are an excellent meeting point for scholars from around the world who might not otherwise have the chance to interact in person. Its goals are lofty, and its principal achievement to date, the production and dissemination of the Annual Egyptological Bibliography, is an absolutely vital tool for scholars in the field.
But times are changing. A number of members of the IAE have said to me that the organization is, at best, a paper group that provides a periodic opportunity to get together with colleagues in a convivial setting. Not that there is any thing wrong with getting together and socializing, but I think we can do much more. I cannot imagine that the scholars in attendance here today would want to be identified as belonging to an organization whose main goal was to socialize.
The new millennium has come and gone. I believe that this is the moment for us to rethink together the goals of the IAE, to reposition the organization so that it reflects today's world and helps us work together to achieve our common goals of understanding and preserving our shared cultural heritage.
Let us look at each of the current aims of the IAE as listed on the web sites, assess how we are doing, and think about how we might do better:
1. "The Association shall openly discuss problems affecting Egyptological studies, and shall encourage and promote the study of Egyptology in all its aspects on an international basis."
This is a noble and far-reaching goal. Are we living up to it? Are we doing all we can? At these congresses, papers are presented that share information from excavations, museum strategies, linguistic findings, research discoveries, and the like. They are a start. But are they enough?
I believe that we need more directed initiatives by this organization, rather than an acceptance of the ways things are now. Perhaps we should be developing a set of strategies to encourage universities and other institutions of higher learning to expand or re-direct their history or archaeology departments by including the teaching and funding of Egyptology. We might think about expanding the involvement of institutions and communities in Egyptology, and developing shared information or promotional materials that might encourage non-related companies to help fund particular Egyptology projects either in the field or through research. Perhaps these Congresses themselves should be more specifically targeted to address particular problems facing us as both as a scholarly discipline and as a community.
2. The Association shall prepare the Annual Egyptological Bibliography, and shall sponsor such international projects pertaining to documentation, dictionaries, and so on as are of importance to the scientific development of Egyptology.
The world wide web is truly beginning to change the face of scholarship. It is wonderful that several volumes of the Annual Egyptological Bibliography, an irreplaceable resource for Egyptologists, are now on the web. But it seems, at least according to the IAE website, that basic compilation of the volumes is almost ten years behind, and electronic and web versions of the current corpus of the AEB still remain to be completed. The editors have a number of institutions around the world contributing to their work, and the IAE gives some financial support. But both the technology and the expertise are there for us to do much more, and make this important resource both a more powerful and more accessible tool for all of us.
3. The Association shall collect and distribute information concerning new discoveries, scientific work in progress and work completed.
How are we doing in terms of this goal? Nine congresses over more than five decades, at which a fraction of the ongoing work is presented, can hardly be said to successfully achieve this aim. A few links on the IAE website are also insufficient (and the links provided are, I am afraid, woefully incomplete). Again, the technology is there. Nigel Strudwick's invaluable web site is an excellent example of what can be done -- by one person, working alone, who has many other things to do. The same technology that can be applied to the AEB can be applied to other information dissemination projects. The IAE would be an ideal platform through which we might look for ways to communicate the results of our excavations and research projects in a timely and easily accessible fashion.
4. The Association shall encourage collaboration between scholars and existing associations as well as the creation of Fellowships, Scholarships, etc. in Egyptology.
What has the IAE done to achieve this goal? Who in this room would think of first looking at the IAE website for available employment opportunities, no matter how temporary? A quick check of the advertised posts, scholarships, and grants section has only six entries. Are these all the opportunities we have to offer? Perhaps it is time to begin to fulfill this aim, and create fellowships and scholarships in Egyptology sponsored by the IAE. At the very least, we could make the web site a functional resource. There are both opportunities and needs out there, and the IAE would be an ideal clearing house for this sort of information. These congresses should also be platforms for people to learn of upcoming job openings, fellowships, or grants available in the field. They can also be opportunities for younger scholars to see some of the more experienced, or at least greyer-haired, Egyptologists in action, a chance for mentoring and networking that can benefit all.
5. The Association shall support the holding of international congresses of Egyptology.
Well, here we are, so I suppose we are doing okay on this one!
6. The Association shall promote a wider understanding and appreciation of Egyptology on the part of the general public by encouraging and supporting exhibitions, etc.
What has been done so far to achieve this goal, beyond the organization of this conference every four years? The potential here is unlimited. There is so much popular interest in ancient Egypt. People want to learn about our common heritage, and they want to help us protect it. There are many things we might do. For example, we might look for ways to help museums create methodologies for increasing the visibility of the discipline in their communities. Perhaps the group's governing bodies could develop a plan for each country to include one or two private companies willing to join and support the IAE, and contribute financially to specific projects or initiatives? The interest is there, it just needs to be explored and exploited for the benefit of all.
7. The Association shall encourage the preservation of the cultural and historic heritage of the ancient inhabitants of the Nile Valley.
Again, I see little action toward achieving this crucial aim, which we all share. The IAE could be an ideal partner to help initiate collaborative projects and identify possible funding agents in participating countries who might be encouraged to support appropriate excavation and conservation projects, the most pressing current need in Egypt.
We have here in this room the greatest concentration of trained Egyptologists, people who chosen to devote their lives to the study of the ancient past, in the world. Although some of our colleagues are missing, we have here a great percentage of the people who can make things happen, who have the knowledge, and the contacts, to make a difference. There is no other organization in the world with this concentration of ability, energy, and expertise, and I believe it is time for the International Association of Egyptologists to become the strong, vibrant organization that it can be.
In order to achieve these goals, we need strong leadership. Our president should be someone who believes in this organization, who has a vision for the future and wants to volunteer his or her time to help implement far-reaching changes. It should be someone who actively wants to lead us into the new millennium, who believes in the possibilities of this association and is willing to work hard. To begin what I see as essential changes to this organization, I suggest that we change the procedures by which our president is elected, from a passive nomination system to an active system of campaigning.
It is not time for a facelift for this organization. It is time for a complete makeover. I ask that we all commit to working together toward a more dynamic future in which we can truly encourage and promote the study of Egyptology, and the conservation of the cultural heritage on which all of our futures depend.
And now, I will take this opportunity to put on my hat as Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and talk to you a little bit about our current goals and procedures. We are focusing in the coming years on five main issues:
1. First, we are working to change our museums from storage buildings to institutions with strong educational and cultural messages, as well as beautiful interior design. We can see this now in the New Civilization Museum in Alexandria and the extension of the Luxor Museum, which contains new permanent exhibitions on the Army in the Golden Age and Technology in Ancient Egypt. We are building now a new museum in Minya for Akhenaten; Sohag Museum will contain the history of the region. The Fayoum Museum will focus on the Fayoum Portraits; coins will be highlighted at the Citadel and there will be a Mosaic Museum in Alexandria. Other great museums under construction are in Sharm el-Sheikh, El-Swuez and Rashied City, and there will be an Imhotep Museum in Saqqara. At Cairo there are two Islamic Museum to be finished in May 2005 and the Coptic Museum will be opened within a year. In Cairo also, the National Museum of Civilization is under construction at Fustat, and will contain artifacts from the Predynastic Period until the era of Mohammed Ali, but the royal mummies will be the main attraction. The construction of the Grand museum will start in march 2004 and will house 80,000 artifacts, with the Tutankhamun Collection as its main attraction. The Cairo Museum will be dedicated to the history of Egyptian art. Each of these new museums will have a unique focus and message.
2. Our next major goal involves site management, focusing first on sites that are open to the public and thus in need of protection. We have finished projects at Kalabsha; the Quarry of the Unfinished Obelisk; Edfu; Kom Ombo; Dendera; and the pyramids; and are developing programs at Saqqara and in the Valley of the Kings. These projects are essential for the preservation and long-term survival of our monuments, and much of our attention and resources are focused here. Many of our foreign colleagues are collaborating with us on these projects, helping us fulfill our role as guardians of these monuments.
3. To protect our monuments, we are also updating our security systems by hiring and training more guards, building new storage magazines, and focusing on recording monuments
4. We are concentrating our efforts on returning stolen artifacts, and have had a number of important successes. Anyone caught dealing in illegal antiquities is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and we have increased the penalties for those caught participating in the antiquities trade.
5. An important initiative is to increase the love of ancient Egypt among Egyptians, both children and adults. We have opened a school in the Cairo Museum for children and adults, where they can learn about ancient Egypt. Last week we celebrated the graduation of for the second year. We have programs so that handicapped and blind children can visit our museum, and a wonderful project for children who live on the sea shore to make sand sculptures. Mobile exhibitions are traveling to universities and schools around the country. We have lecture series on ancient Egypt connected with concerts of music, and associations for friends of our museums, such as the Cairo Museum and others. These programs are designed to encourage Egyptians to understand and love their heritage.
Both to help fund these initiatives and to increase awareness of and interest in ancient Egypt around the world, we are sending out exhibitions of major artifacts to museums and halls around the globe. Tutankhamun is traveling again for the first time in over two decades: artifacts from his tomb, along with pieces from the tombs of Amenhotpe II, Atuthmosis IV, and Yuya and Tjuya, are now in Basel; they wil also go to Germany, the United States, Great Britain, and Vienna.
I wish also to speak to the issue of the current regulations governing the activities of foreign missions working in Egypt, a subject which I know touches many of you personally. We instituted these new regulations two years ago, filling a long-standing void. All of these regulations are designed to protect our common cultural heritage and to promote preservation and the fundamental tenets of good scholarship.
There are four main issues that these regulations are designed to address:
1. First, there has been a great deal of excavation in Upper Egypt over the past centuries, and comparatively little conservation work. It is time to stop exposing our monuments to the almost certainly damaging light of day without the resources to protect them properly. Therefore, we have instituted a ban on ALL new excavation projects from Giza to Abu Simbel. Appropriate missions are permitted to carry out restoration projects, epigraphical work, surveys, and other non-intrusive forms of research, but new excavation projects are no longer permitted in this area. Excavation IS permitted in the Delta and the desert, where sites are threatened both by uncontrolled human development and environmental issues such as the high water table. If these sites are not explored now, they will be gone to us forever. Any excavation MUST be accompanied by properly executed conservation, carried out by the mission in conjunction with the inspector and appropriate outside companies.
2. The new regulations are designed to insure that missions working in Egypt are headed and staffed by experts, people who are trained in the fields of Egyptology and archaeology, and who are affiliated with academic institutions such as universities and museums. Each application is reviewed in detail by experts who report their findings to the Permanent Committee of the SCA, which makes the final decision about whether or not to approve the project. Every member of the mission must be screened carefully by the Permanent Committee, and must have proper credentials before they will be granted security clearance and allowed to work on-site. Permission for foreign visitors must also be gained in advance for missions working in secure areas. The SCA has suspended several missions and turned down a number of new applications because the teams were composed of amateurs. We must protect our sites from those who might to damage them.
3. We are also working to insure that the knowledge gained from projects carried out in Egypt is disseminated properly. If you make a great discovery, but you never publish it properly, no one benefits. If the information is not shared, it dies – your time and money will have been wasted, and you will have destroyed a piece of the past. According to the new regulations, a preliminary report must be submitted to the SCA as soon as the mission stops work. Three months later, a full report, with photographs and an Arabic translation, must be submitted in CD format; this is sent to the publication department for publication in the Annales du Service, which is published in both English and Arabic so that it is accessible to both the foreign and Egyptian researcher. Within five years, the mission is required to do a full publication, in book form, of any project results. If any of these criteria are not met, the project will be suspended. Related to these requirements is the issue of announcing discoveries. The SCA must be notified first of all discoveries, so that they can be announced, in the name of the discoverer, in the both the national and international press. After the official announcement has been made, the discoverer is free to make whatever announcements they like.
4. Last, but not least, we will not tolerate any cooperation with antiquities dealers. Several scholars have had their projects suspended or have been banned from Egypt because they have been caught doing business with dealers. The antiquities trade continues to threaten our cultural heritage, and I cannot believe that anyone who truly loves Egyptology would have anything to do with it.
Our primary goal at the SCA is to preserve and safeguard our ancient past. If we are, together, to successfully save the ancient monuments of Egypt, and to gain as much knowledge as we can from the work being carried out, both by Egyptian and by foreign projects, we must all abide by these rules, and respect them.
Before I close, I would like to announce a major new center for Egyptology currently in the discussion and planning stages. This will be built in Luxor, and will include a comprehensive Egyptological library, a museum dedicated to the history of Egyptology, and twenty fellowships for young scholars. Each year, one distinguished Egyptologist will act as Chair, overseeing the work of the twenty fellows. Fellowships will be open to young Egyptologists from around the world, who will have funding for a year to work on dissertations or carry out research projects. And we will make sure that these opportunities are posted on the IAE web site!
I hope that the IAE can partner with the SCA in our efforts to preserve the ancient past. I honor and value my foreign colleagues. Egypt appreciates the many great contributions that you and your predecessors have made over the years, and needs your cooperation and collaboration. So let us work together toward common goals, and preserve our cultural heritage for future generations.
Thank you.