MODERN EGYPT

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Overreaction charge



There have been no cases of swine flu in Egypt.

Pig-farming and consumption is limited to Egypt's Christian minority, estimated at 10% of the population.

On Saturday, health officials began the slaughter in earnest, moving in on a city slum where rubbish collectors are said to keep around 60,000 pigs.

The slaughter is expected to take around a month.

Officials say the cull is aimed at bringing order to the country's pig-rearing industry, so that in future animals are not reared on rubbish tips but on proper farms.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says the government has been criticised for overreacting to the threat, but it was also criticised for responding too slowly to the bird flu crisis two years ago.

When bird flu appeared in the country in 2006 mass culls were carried out but at least 22 humans died from the disease.

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                                    Egypt pig farmers clash with police over slaughter
           



 

by Samer el-Atrush
May 3, 2009
CAIRO
(AFP)

– Egyptian riot police clashed on Sunday with stone-throwing pig farmers who were trying to prevent their animals being taken away for slaughter as part of a mass nationwide cull.

Between 300 and 400 residents of the hilly Moqattam slum district of Cairo, where mostly Coptic Christian scrap merchants raise pigs, hurled stones and bottles at police.

Anti-riot police replied by firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, most of them youths.

An AFP correspondent said the protesters ransacked a police post and an officer fired warning shots in the air.

Seven policemen were slightly injured, a security official said, while at least eight demonstrators were hurt, according to the correspondent and a medic.

An ambulance was on stand-by in Moqattam neighbourhood of Manshiyet Nasr, home to about 35,000 scrap and recycling merchants known as the "zabaleen" who raise some 60,000 pigs.

"They want to steal our livelihood," protested one of the farmers, Adel Izhak, before police started to take control of the district.

Similar troubles broke out in Khanka, north of the capital, security officials said. Police were already repelled from Khanka by stone-throwers on Wednesday after the controversial cull was announced.

Egypt began the cull of the nation's 250,000 pigs on Saturday, despite the World Health Organisation saying there was no evidence the animals were transmitting swine flu to humans.

The authorities are calling the slaughter a general health measure. No cases of swine flu, or influenza A(H1N1), have been reported in the Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world.

Egypt's pigs mostly belong to and are eaten by members of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority and are reared by rubbish collectors in Cairo's shantytowns. Islam bans the consumption of pork for the majority Muslims.

Egyptian animal rights activist Amina Abaza deplored the slaughter of pigs and said the decision to cull them was probably taken only because they belong to the Copts.

"They are doing all this although there is not one single case of swine flu in Egypt," Abaza told AFP, noting that Egypt has suffered from bird flu but no decision was taken to stem out poultry in the country.

"I wonder if this measure has not been taken because pigs belongs to Copts," she said.

Abaza, who is the founder of the first animal rights association in Egypt known as SPARE, said she believed that slaughtering the pigs was more "linked to religion than fear of the disease" itself.

The rubbish collectors, who used the pigs to dispose of organic waste and sell off some animals from their herds once a year, say the cull will affect their business and wipe out a crucial source of income.

Although no cases of swine flu have been reported in Egypt, the country has been battling an outbreak of bird flu for three years.

Twenty-six people have died in Egypt from the H5N1 strain of bird flu since it was first identified in early 2006 and the country has seen an increase in cases over the past two months.

The authorities have said it will take six months to carry out the pig slaughter and announced plans to import three machines to raise the culling capacity to 3,000 animals a day.

According to the government newspaper Al-Ahram, the authorities plan to pay out 100 pounds (14 dollars) for each male animal slaughtered and 250 pounds (35 dollars) for each female pig.

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                                                   Working on Coptic archives



                      Nevine El-Aref reports on the completion of the first inventory to assess


       the current condition of manuscripts stored for almost a century in the Coptic Museum archives


 




Al Ahram Weekly
Issue April 30 - May 6, 2009

The Coptic Museum archives, considered to be the world's most important Coptic library and containing more than 5,000 manuscripts and books, are being given a facelift.

Serenity, peace and complete quiet are the overwhelming sensations in the museum library, despite the presence of two dozen experts and restorers who have spread themselves to each corner of the reading room. Since January, the library has been converted into a scientific laboratory so that a comprehensive survey to assess the current conditions of its treasured manuscripts and books can be carried out. Armed with white gowns, masks, small brushes, glass plaques, small pieces of cottonwool and special liquids, junior and professional restorers sit in front of their improvised desks examining the piece of manuscript win their hands. They are looking for parts of each manuscript that show signs of being infected, and then they will identify its causes, take notes and rescue the pieces that are in need of attention.

"I am very happy to be taking part in such a great project," Hamdi Abdel-Moneim, an expert in manuscript restoration, told Al-Ahram Weekly. He added that during his 22-year career in restoring Islamic manuscripts, it was the first time he had come face to face with Coptic pieces. "They are totally different than each other," Abdel-Moneim said, pointing out that Copts used goatskin or manuscripts while Muslims, writing at a later date, used paper, which required different maintenance and restorative treatment. "I have examined almost 30 per cent of the stored collection," Abdel-Moneim said, "and I have realised that the condition of the Coptic manuscripts is worse than Islamic ones since they have been handled more often by monks and other churchgoers. But Islamic ones are much better preserved since they have been kept in hard covers, like the Quran for example."

Abdel-Moneim noted that spots of wax and oil are easily seen on the manuscripts, while others had been attacked by insects. Ten per cent of the stored collection was badly damaged and required an immediate attention, since the goatskin interacted with itself, thus transformed into gelatin, which made it beyond repair. He said the books were in better condition but many had wax and water spots as well as holes and tears.

"The project also is trying to adjust the incorrect restoration implemented during the 'era of the Martyrs' in about 1600, when monks glued the manuscripts to sheets of paper in an attempt to support them. Regretfully, however, this treatment led to the deterioration of some parts of the manuscripts, while some others were lost in the process.

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"Dealing with more than 5,000 priceless manuscripts at once really is a challenge," Nadja Tomoum, head of the project told the Weekly. She added that the project was a result of the initiative launched by the friends of the Coptic Museum, who submitted the proposal.

The project is being carried out with the collaboration of the Getty Foundation, which is well-known in the field and not only aims at assessing the condition of the treasured archive collection but also identifying the problems and finding solutions for future treatments. It will also examine the environmental condition of the archive in order to provide the optimum and most suitable environment for the preservation of its collection.

Tomoum pointed out that a good many improvements were required to combat the high rate of humidity and install an air conditioning system, temperature control and suitable storage cabinets. In collaboration with experts from the Mènster University in Germany, a data base for a professional cataloguing system will also be among the elements of the project.

Tomoum said three studies were carried out last year to catalogue the manuscripts by classifying the contents and identifying texts. A new numbering system known as Getty Numbers will be employed for cataloguing the collection, as each item can have more than one number which is confusing. These old numbers would be left as they were, Tomoum said, because for some Coptologists these were their documentation numbers. The Getty Numbers would be a new numbering system to access the stored items, some of which were not yet published. Tomoum promised that at the end of this year another campaign would be implemented to restore and correctly preserve the collection.

"It is really a very important step, and the first one towards refurbishing the Coptic Museum archive," Tomoum commented.

Marwa Mahmoud, a junior restorer who began her career five years ago, described the project as a free training course for her generation of restorers. "I have learnt how to hold a manuscript, how to deal with it and how to protect it during the maintenance process," Mahmoud said. "It has also raised made my eyes more sensitive when it comes to identifying the damage, even if it is hidden or not clear."

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Restorer Kamal Mohamed had a similar view of the project. "It's a great opportunity to examine a large amount of manuscripts of various materials: papyrus, paper, fabrics and goatskin, as well as knowing different types of infections," he said. "It has taught me how to carry out a complete and comprehensive survey of manuscripts through applying a digital 'birth certificate' that assesses its size, material and current condition as well as suggesting future treatments. It is not only a scientific experience but an encouraging project as well." Mohamed said it helped boost their confidence by providing a chance for decision-making and assessing the methods for direct intervention to rescue very damaged items.

Nagah Ragab said the project had shown them the latest technology used in restoring manuscripts and books, but for restorer Sherine Lyon it was a means to reschedule their thoughts about ways of dealing with very sensitive items like the manuscripts.

Julie Miller from Michigan University told the Weekly that the aim of the project was to provide a better home for the priceless collection, with an improved environment and better conditions. It was also a way of developing the skills and knowledge of Egyptian curators as well as training junior colleagues.

"I am delighted with the project," said Pamela Spitamuelles from Harvard University. She said it was invaluable to see different kinds of ancient covers with special decorations that she had not seen it before.

"It is a dream to come true," said Coptologist Zefreg Ritcha at Munster University. "In 1925 when I was a student I dreamt of working at the Coptic Museum archive, and now it has happened."

He said his input to the project was to delve into the context of each item, and not only its content. This meant he deciphered the text, explained it, located the site where it was found, and identified the leaves. "Most of the manuscripts I examined were private letters with missing parts so that a person couldn't follow up the story," he said. "It is really disappointing as some of these letters highlight the lifestyle of the era or the kind of commerce then," Ritcha said.

He explains that he is also implementing the new cataloguing system, since some manuscripts have two different numbers which is confusing for students and Coptologists. "We will keep these numbers and insert another number proceeded with letter G in order to identify it as the Getty Number," Ritcha said. He explained that through exploration of the archives, a collection of 20 unpublished manuscripts had been assessed. "No one knew about it," he pointed out, adding that some of the manuscripts had long texts from the Old Testament or Nubian texts.

"It is not just a restoration project but is my rebirth certification," Kamilia Makram, the library director, told the Weekly. "Since it was established in the 1990s no one has touched upon the library collection. Even during the comprehensive restoration project to renovate the museum and its collection after almost 10 years of closure, no one had touched the library, and when I asked why they said there will be a special project for it. Following three years of its re-opening my dream is fulfilled."
 


© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly

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                                                     Famed Nefertiti bust 'a fake': expert






May 5, 2009           
PARIS
(AFP)

– The bust of Queen Nefertiti housed in a Berlin museum and believed to be 3,400 years old in fact is a copy dating from 1912 that was made to test pigments used by the ancient Egyptians, according to Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin.

Stierlin, author of a dozen works on Egypt, the Middle East and ancient Islam, says in a just-released book that the bust currently in Berlin's Altes Museum was made at the order of German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt by an artist named Gerardt Marks.

"It seems increasingly improbable that the bust is an original," Stierlin told AFP.

The historian said the archaeologist had hoped to produce a new portrait of the queen wearing a necklace he knew she had owned, and was also looking to carry out a colour test with ancient pigments found at the digs.

But on December 6, 1912, the copy was admired as an original work by a German prince and the archaeologist "couldn't sum up the courage to ridicule" his guest, Stierlin said.

The historian, who has been working on the subject for 25 years, said he based his findings on several facts. "The bust has no left eye and was never crafted to have one. This is an insult for an ancient Egyptian who believed the statue was the person themself."

He also said the shoulders were cut vertically in the style practised since the 19th century while "Egyptians cut shoulders horizontally" and that the features were accentuated in a manner recalling that of Art Nouveau.

It was impossible to scientifically establish the date of the bust because it was made of stone covered in plaster, he said.

"The pigments, which can be dated, are really ancient," he added.

Stierlin also listed problems he noted during the discovery and shipment to Germany as well as in scientific reports of the time.

French archaeologists present at the site never mentioned the finding and neither did written accounts of the digs. The earliest detailed scientific report appeared in 1923, 11 years after the discovery.

The archaeologist "didn't even bother to supply a description, which is amazing for an exceptional work found intact".

Borchardt "knew it was a fake," Stierlin said. "He left the piece for 10 years in his sponsor's sitting-room. It's as if he'd left Tutankhamen's mask in his own sitting-room."

Egypt has demanded the return of the bust discovered on the banks of the Nile since it went on display in 1923, depicting a stunning woman wearing a unique cone-shaped headdress.

One of Berlin's prime attractions it will move into its own hall at the newly renovated Neues Museum when it reopens to the public in October.

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                                                Is famed Nefertiti bust a fake?






May 5th, 2009
San Jose Mercury News

The plot thickens.

Agence France-Press is reporting that the famed bust of Nefertiti, which is housed in the Altes
Museum of the National Museums of Berlin, is a 20th-century copy.

This is interesting news given recent radiological testing of the statue which revealed a hidden
face carved in the statue’s limestone core and which was supposed to support the theory that
the bust is indeed 3,300 years old.

I’ve never seen the original sculpture…only a copy which visited the Bay Area recently in the Fine
Arts Museums of San Francisco’s exhibit “The State Museums of Berlin and the Legacy of James
Simon.”

Is the controversial statue indeed a fake?

It’ll be interesting to see how this story plays out… 

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                                                          No, No, Nefertiti






By Mitchell Martin
Published: May 5, 2009   
 NEW YORK

—It’s hard to imagine Queen Nefertiti speaking with a German accent, but a Swiss art historian is claiming that a delicate bust of the Egyptian monarch in Berlin that was thought to date back to 1347 BC is in fact a 20th-century imposter.

Henri Stierlin says the bust was made by an artist named Gerardt Marks at the request of Ludwig Borchardt, an archaeologist, for research purposes. On December 6, 1912, a German prince admired the statue as an original, the story goes, and Borchardt didn’t have the heart to correct him.

The historian gave several bits of evidence to support his claim. Among them: The bust has only one eye and was not crafted to include the other one, which would have been offensive in ancient Egypt; its shoulders were cut vertically, reminiscent of Art Nouveau styling rather than the typical horizontal orientation of Egyptian works; and archaeologists at the site where the bust was said to have been found did not mention it at the time.

German scientists recently discovered a second face under the surface of the bust, suggesting that the features of the statue were adjusted for some reason.

It would be ironic if the work were fake: Egypt has been trying to get it back for years. Nefertiti was the wife of the 18th-dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaton, and together they were known for efforts to bring monotheism to Egypt with the worship of one sun god, Aton.

The bust is currently on view at Berlin’s Altes Museum and is scheduled to move to the Neues Museum when the institution reopens in October. Stierlin told ARTINFO that he had suspected the statue was not an antiquity as far back as 1983 but has recently refined his analysis and wanted to come public with it before the opening of the new museum.



http://www.archaeologynews.org/link.asp?ID=434839&Title=No, No, Nefertiti

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                                      Swiss art historian claims Nefertiti bust a fake



                                  Egypt's antiquities head says statements nonsensical
 
 
 
 

(AlArabiya.net, Agencies)
May 9, 2009

One of history's most famous archaeological finds may just be a fake, claims one art historian.
The world renowned bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, believed to be 3,400 years old, is at the
center of contentious debate on whether the famed artifact is genuine or just a forgery.

Housed in a Berlin museum, the iconic bust is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt but its legitimacy has been put into question by Swiss art historian, Henri Stierlin, who claims that the bust
is just a copy dating from 1912.

Stierlin says an archaeologist at the time had hoped to produce a new portrait of the queen wearing
a necklace he knew she had owned, and was also looking to carry out a color test with ancient pigments found at the digs.

"It seems increasingly improbable that the bust is an original," Stierlin told AFP.
 



Bust in Germany: "fake"

The startling claim stroked already tense relations between Egypt and Germany, the former having already made requests for the immediate return of the artifact since it went on display in 1923.

The colorful bust depicts a stunning woman – believed to be Nefertiti - wearing a unique cone-shaped headdress. Stierlin, author of a dozen works on Egypt, the Middle East and ancient Islam, says the bust currently in Berlin's Altes Museum was made at the order of German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt by an artist named Gerardt Marks.

On Dec. 6, 1912, the copy was admired as an original work by a German prince and Borchardt "couldn't sum up the courage to ridicule" his guest, Stierlin said.

He claimed it was impossible to scientifically establish the date of the bust because it was made of stone covered in plaster. The historian, who has been working on the subject for 25 years, said he based his findings on several facts.   

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Egypt refutes "findings"



Zahi Hawass refuted claims that Nefertiti was a fake, promising to reveal story behind her smuggling

But Egyptian authorities are crying foul, claiming that the allegations regarding the legitimacy of one
of Egypt's most prized artifacts are unfounded.

"Stierlin is not a historian. He is delirious," Zahi Hawas, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council
of Antiquities told AlArabiya.

Hawas, the leading expert on ancient Egypt, refuted a number of claims Stierlin cited in his argument over the age of the bust, including its design and original condition.

Stierlin said the shoulders were cut vertically in the style practiced since the 19th century while "Egyptians cut shoulders horizontally" and that the features were accentuated in a manner recalling that of Art Nouveau.

But Hawas argued that the era of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti was distinguished by a
new type of art form that broke free from all traditional styles.
 

" It seems increasingly improbable that the bust is an original "
Henri Stierlin, Swiss archaeologist"Thus, the paintings and statues belonging to this period came out different," he said.

Stierlin noted that the bust has no left eye and this would have been an insult to the queen at the time, so it couldn't have been carved during Nefertiti's reign.

Hawas again refuted the claim saying that the bust had a left eye that was damaged.

"The royal sculptor Tohotmos made it with two eyes, but one was later destroyed."

Stierlin also listed problems he noted during the discovery and shipment to Germany as well as in scientific reports of the time.

French archaeologists present at the site never mentioned the finding and neither did written accounts of the digs. The earliest detailed scientific report appeared in 1923, 11 years after the discovery.

The archaeologist "didn't even bother to supply a description, which is amazing for an exceptional work found intact," Stierlin said.

Hawas agreed with him regarding the report, but attributed it to the fact that the French archaeologists in charge of Egypt's antiquities at the time were not present in Tel al-Amarna where the bust was discovered.

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Nefertari's tomb in the Valley of the Queens

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                                                   What's going on in Luxor?






Al Aharam Weekly
May 11, 2009

Geotechnical studies and mapping, restoration, conservation and site management, that's what's going on -- and a great deal more, says Jill Kamil
 
We all know that the "mansions of millions of years", the tombs and temples built by the ancient Egyptians that were meant to last forever, are seriously threatened -- and have been for a long
time now. Among the many causes are subsoil water seepage, infrastructure development, un-
restricted housing, and that greatest menace of all -- tourism.

Fifty years ago fewer than a hundred visitors a day visited Luxor's magnificent monuments.

Now there are as many as 9,000, and they are largely responsible for rapid changes in temperature
and humidity levels in the tombs.

It's a never-ending struggle.

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Take Nefertari's tomb in the Valley of the Queens as an instance.

The tomb was discovered in 1856 by Ernesto Schiaparelli, and was closed to visitors in the 1950s because of the marked deterioration of the marvellous wall paintings of Ramses II's most beloved
of wives.

It remained closed until 1986 when the Getty Conservation Institute, in collaboration with the then Egyptian Antiquities Organisation (EAO), undertook a major conservation programme. The tomb was reopened in 1995, theoretically to a limited number of visitors per day.

Unfortunately, however, this was difficult to control -- or perhaps there was not enough incentive
to do so. Anyway, the newly restored paintings deteriorated at such a rate that the condition of
the tomb caused renewed concern to the authorities and was closed in 2003; this time to all but
small groups willing to pay a substantial entrance fee.

This somewhat reduced humidity in the tomb but it did not solve the problem because the paintings
are on plaster which tends, because of its weight, to separate from the bedrock. Further efforts were made by the Getty Institute to slow the rate of buckling, and the number of tourists is now "strictly controlled" -- according to Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
-- but the process of destruction continues.

Even re-closing the tomb will not save it.

All that can be done is to monitor its inevitable deterioration.

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Tourism is expected to increase in the next decade, and is essential for the Egyptian economy.
Not everyone is pessimistic, however.

"Large numbers of tourists do not necessarily spell the death of an ancient site provided their numbers are carefully regulated and environmental controls are put in place to counter their negative effects, and long-term management plans are implemented",

Kent Weeks, director of the Theban Mapping Project (TMP) since 1979, says.

Weeks points out that he recognised early on the urgent need for archaeological conservation on the necropolis, the west bank of the Nile, and in collaboration with the SCA he launched the first step to establish a survey grid across the necropolis to make it possible for the accurate location of monuments. His next step was a detailed survey of the Valley of the Kings that included topographical maps and meticulous plans of all accessible tombs. Using this information, Weeks has devoted the last four years to preparing a management plan for the royal valley as the first part of what he hopes will ultimately be a plan for the entire west bank.

"Six years ago the concept of site management was in its infancy," says Hawass, who took over the post of secretary-general of the SCA in 2002. "Tombs and temples were excavated, conservation programmes carried out, and decisions made, but seldom, if ever, with an overall vision for the understanding of the increasing dangers facing Luxor or for its protection as a whole," he said. "Over decades important restoration projects were carried out, but with no comprehensive strategy to protect the sites for the future. This is no longer the case. The future is upon us, and site management is one of the SCA's most important goals. We don't want work to be directed towards just one tomb or wall, but to the sites as a whole, both on the east bank of the Nile at Luxor and the west."

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Providing training to archaeologists, architects, conservators and administrators is an integral part
of the SCA's current programmes because, again in the words of Hawass, "unless we improve the professional capacities of our employees, it will be impossible to develop and implement long-term
plans to maintain sites." To this end, and in response to the SCA, the site management training
project of the American Research Centre in Egypt (ARCE), funded by USAID, was initiated in 2006.
Its objective is to help promote "effective" and "integrated" site management in Egypt, and more specifically, "to increase the expertise of the SCA to formulate, implement, and administer the plan... and provide the means to handle risks at sites."

Howard Carter's house on the west bank, built in 1902, has been renovated to serve as the site management headquarters, and there inspectors selected by the SCA participate in site management and training programmes, some of which are already being implemented. Drains, for example, are being laid out along the semi-circle of mortuary temples from Medinet Habu to that of Seti I so that excess irrigation water that threatens antiquities at the edge of the desert can be pumped into a drainage canal that carries it to the Nile. This project is funded by the World Monuments Fund.

Dewatering programmes around Luxor and Karnak temples, funded by SWECO of Sweden, have been launched on the east bank of the Nile. They include large-scale engineering works to install a city-wide sewage system around these most frequently visited and important monuments. Interestingly, the operations have revealed the presence of unknown or previously lost monuments around the temple complexes -- for example the eastern limits of the destroyed temple built by Akhenaten was uncovered; outside the Karnak Temple complex the colonnade of an unknown temple dating from the 25th Dynasty was found; and work around Luxor Temple has revealed the enclosure wall of a Roman camp as well as decorated blocks re-used as house foundations for the mediaeval city that grew up to the east. Needless to say, whenever antiquities are chanced up, engineering work is held up for an indefinite period.