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Egyptological Congress Hears Call for Preservation of Sites

Fewer than 200 people came to the Third International Congress of Egyptology in Toronto September 4–11, 1982, instead of the expected 700–800. But this did not affect the high quality of the papers presented there. Instead, the low attendance reflected, primarily, tightened academic budgets and the relatively high cost of registration and attendance.

As one participant noted, although the Congress was abbreviated as ICE throughout the Skyline Hotel, the atmosphere was definitely warm. There were speakers from the United States, Canada, Germany and France; it was especially gratifying to hear a paper by an Egyptian scholar followed by a presentation of an Israeli scholar, both warmly received.

The grand old man of Egyptian archaeology, former Director of Field Archaeology in the Egyptian Antiquities Department, Labib Habachi, received a standing ovation—the only one at the Congress—for his paper on the need to survey and excavate, as well as to preserve ancient sites, especially in the Nile Delta, before they are permanently obliterated by the encroachments of modern civilization.

Habachi called on foreign Egyptological foundations as well as local ones to assist in the work. He decried illicit digging, the destruction of monuments and the smuggling of finds out of the country.

Habachi referred to Georges Foucart’s inspection reports of ancient remains seen by him in 1893 and 1894. Many of these remains have partially or completely disappeared, Habachi said.

Especially important are the remains at sites in the eastern Delta because of these communities’ trade contacts with neighbors during the Pharaonic period and because of the concern for Bible-related records that could be unearthed at these sites, he said.

But there are important sites in the western Delta too, Habachi stated. Ramesses II, whom many believe to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus, built a string of military outposts, several only recently discovered, about every 35 miles west of present-day Alexandria. These were fortifications against an invasion by the so-called Sea Peoples, including the Philistines. These fortifications too must be excavated and preserved.

Habachi criticized those excavators who dig and then do not publish reports of their findings. “In some places, where work went on for ten years or more, not one single report was published,” he said. Habachi applauded the recent requirement imposed by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities that preliminary reports be published annually.

Habachi proposed an intensive survey to be followed by establishment of priorities to excavate and preserve what is most immediately endangered.

In response to Habachi’s plea, several leading expedition directors agreed to undertake surveys of the areas surrounding their immediate foci. These included Jack Holladay of the University of Toronto, who is digging at Tell Mashkhuta, Manfred Bietak, Director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo, digging at Tell el-Daba, and David O’Connor of The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, digging at Abydos.

The topics of other papers presented at the Congress ranged from the occurrence of epilepsy in ancient Egypt and the syntax of the inscriptions of Metjen, to the introduction of curled hair into Egypt, new tombs at Saqqara, and the origins of the Asiatics and Hyksos in the Nile Delta. The program also included a great many excavation reports.

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Egyptological Congress Hears Call for Preservation of Sites

Fewer than 200 people came to the Third International Congress of Egyptology in Toronto September 4–11, 1982, instead of the expected 700–800. But this did not affect the high quality of the papers presented there. Instead, the low attendance reflected, primarily, tightened academic budgets and the relatively high cost of registration and attendance.