Skip to main content

'Indiana Jones' of Egyptian archaeology demands Rosetta Stone from British Museum

http://www.egyptraveluxe.com/egypt_budget_tour.phpNow, Zahi Hawass, the 'Indiana Jones' of Egyptian archaeology, has his sights set on the most glittering prize of all - the Rosetta Stone.
Dr Hawass has demanded that Britain return the 2,200-year-old stone tablet to its homeland.
Archaeological treasure: Zahi Hawass has demanded that Britain return the 2,200-year-old Rosetta Stone to its homeland of Egypt
Archaeological treasure: Zahi Hawass has demanded that Britain return the 2,200-year-old Rosetta Stone to its homeland of Egypt
Arriving in Britain to publicise his quest, he declared that a loan would not be good enough.  Instead, the Rosetta Stone, which has resided in the British Museum since 1802, must be handed over on a permanent basis.
The Museum, however, is standing its ground, declaring its collections should not be broken up and it is the legal owner of the stone.
The stone, which dates back to 196BC, was discovered in Egypt by Napoleon's French forces in 1799 and seized from them by the British two years alter.
Its value lies in its inscriptions, which in three different languages - Ancient Greek, heirogylphic and Demotic, an ancient Egyptian script - provided scholars with the key to deciphering ancient hieroglyphs and unlocking many of the secrets of the pharaohs.
Indiana Jones: Dr Hawass, who wears a trademark stetson, is head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities
Indiana Jones: Dr Hawass, who wears a trademark stetson, is head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities
Dr Hawass, who like Indiana Jones wears a trademark stetson, is secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, making him responsible for the conservation and protection of all archaeological finds.
He regularly features on TV documentaries, has written 16 books, and it is said, likes to tease friend Omar Sharif, that his by far the better known as the two men.
As part of his conservation duties, he has drawn up a 'shopping list' of artifacts 'stolen' from Egypt by colonial powers and claims to have already secured the return of several thousand.
Bolstered by France's agreement to return some fresco fragments earlier this year, he has renewed a campaign, first launched six years ago, for the return of the Rosetta Stone.
Earlier this week, it appeared he would be pacified with temporary custody.
But today he claimed that he didn't not like the 'tone' of the British Museum's response and he wants the stone back for good.
He said: 'When I said I want to have it on a short-term loan, the British Museum wrote a letter to say that they need to know the security of the museum that will host the stone.
'They know that this museum is going to be the largest museum in the world, the security will be perfect.'
stone
Secrets of the pharaohs: The stone is inscribed with Ancient Greek, heirogylphic and Demotic scripts, and provided the key to deciphering ancient hieroglyphs
Responding to suggestions that Egypt would be tempted to return the treasure if given it on loan, he said: 'We are not the Pirates of the Caribbean.
'We are a civilised country.  If I sign a contract with the British museum, (we) will return it.'
He has also accused the British Museum of not looking after the treasure properly, saying: 'They kept it in a dark, baldy lit room until I came and requested it.  Suddenly, it became important to them.'
Archaeological treasure: Zahi Hawass has demanded that Britain return the 2,200-year-old Rosetta Stone to its homeland of Egypt
Custody: The stone, which resides in the British Museum, was discovered in Egypt by Napoleon's forces in 1799 and seized by the British two years later
The Museum, however, is well-practised in fending off such requests.
It has long refused Greek treatise to return the Elgin Marbles to Athens, and has retained ownership of dozens of 'Lewis Chessman' - elaborately carved chess figures discovered on Scotland's Outer Hebrides in the early 19th century despite calls for them to be returned to Scotland.
Roy Clare, head of the government-funded Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, said the stone must stay in London.
He told BBC Radio4's Today programme: 'This icon is an icon globally.
'An object inherits additional culture through its acquisition.'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The bindweeds of Egypt and their symbolic role for the deceased

http://www.egyptraveluxe.com/cairo_half_day_tour_to_cairo_egyptian_museum.php From the Middle Kingdom until the 18th Dynasty, representations are found of a parasitic bindweed associated with the stems of papyrus, . Its representations increase and refine themselves during the Amarnian period because of the naturalistic leaning to nature; but it is in Ramesside times, and more particularly that of Ramesses II, that the images become more beautiful and most detailed. The plant is frequently attached to the stem of the papyrus, or to bouquets, but being also able to, more rarely, exist separately. After the 20th Dynasty, if the theme persists, the quality of the representations decrease (as do all more representations of nature). This success under the Ramesseses is probably linked with the specific beliefs of that time, and notably the eminent place that the solar cults occupy. The nature of the plant has been under debate a long time ...
Post a Comment
Read more

US authorities return eight stolen ancient Egyptian artifacts

US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artifacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. Today, upon his arrival from the United States, Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artefacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. The objects are to arrive next month. The pieces include the upper part of a painted anthropoid wooden sarcophagus from the Third Intermediate period depicting a face of a woman wea ring a wig decorated with coloured flowers. Two linen mummy wrappings covered with plaster and bearing paintings showing winged amulets pushing the sun disc are also among the artefacts. Hieroglyphic text showing the name and titles of the deceased are also found on the plaster cover. The third piece is a cartonage painted mummy mask from the Third Intermediate period while the fourth and fifth items are Middle Kingdom wooden boats. The other three items are lim...
Post a Comment
Read more

what exactly happened to the Sphinx's nose?

The Sphinx's Nose The nose of the Great Sphinx at Giza is made conspicuous by its absence. What happened to it? The popular story is that the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte used the nose for target practice in 1798. Drawings done for La Description de L'Egypte depict a noseless Sphinx. The Sphinx, 1743. In 1737, British traveler Richard Pococke visited Egypt and made a sketch of the Sphinx that was published six years later. The nose is shown intact, but Pococke likely exercised his poetic license by adding it when it was not there (earlier, in 1579, Johannes Helferich had further taken an artist's liberties by depicting the Sphinx with a nose -- and with decidedly female features). Frederick Lewis Norden, an artist and marine architect, also sketched the Sphinx in 1737. His detailed drawings, published in 1755, were more realistic and showed the Sphinx with no nose. It is very unlikely that Norden would omit the nose if it was present. We can conclude that the...
Post a Comment
Read more