The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
The Official SCA Website
News Bulletin
Year 2000 SCA Bulletin
January 2000
The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
The Official SCA Website
News Bulletin
Year 2000 SCA Bulletin
January 2000
New Museum in Alexandria Library
Farouk Hosni, Minister of Culture announced the inauguration in January 2000 of the New Alexandria Library considered as a great cultural, scientific and educational project. Mrs Moubarak, Egypt's First Lady, during the international festivity of the inauguration, will also open for visit the museum that includes 839 masterpieces covering Egypt's history and carefully selected by the SCA responsible.
Alexandria will host the conference held by the Union of the Ancient Ptolemaiic Cities overlooking the Mediterranean Sea at the beginnings of year 2000. The Union includes 19 cities and 2 Greek cultural associations. This conference was decided during a meeting held in Alexandria between El Mahgoub, Alexandria Governor and Regis Passerieux, Mayor of Agde. The SCA will contribute with 200 masterpieces to be exhibited. These monuments reflect the Hellenistic period of Egypt. The conference is meant to be a reflection of all aspects of relations existing between Mediterranean cities. The exposition to be realized in El Azarita, Alexandria and exhibiting Egypt's monuments, shall move after three months to Athens.
Located in Kom El Dekka, the Villa of the birds provides a rare chance to know the urban life during the Roman period 50-300 AD. The exquisite floor carpets discovered were laid during Hadrian's reign 117- 138 AD when Alexandria lived a period of prosperity and richness that lasted for more than a century. The Villa suffered from neglect and destroys and witnessed a great fire during the end of the third century. In 450-550, houses, stores and workshops were built over the ruins of the villa but luckily the foundation trenches never reached the floor mosaics. Recently uncovered, the Villa was subject to restorations led by the SCA and Polish Mission and actually the Villa of the Birds with the beautiful ground mosaics carpets is welcoming visitors straight after the inauguration expected to be honored by Mrs.Moubarak, Egypt's First Lady. This project is a combined effort between the SCA, the ARCE and the Polish working mission in Cairo.
Hatchepsout Temple known as El Deir El Bahary was so called when Christian Monks occupied the Temple and used it as a monastery during the beginnings of Christianity in Egypt. A large restoration project overview the reconstruction of crawled walls, restoration of scenes depicted over the walls, the erection of fallen columns, the pavement of the ground floor in the second and third compartment. The completion of this project by a co-operative team from the SCA and the Polish working mission in Cairo is due to February 2000. The project had started in July 1998 and part of it was the restoration of the external walls of the first courtyard.
L'Art Copte en Egypte is the exhibition to be held in France in L'Institut du Monde Arabe as from 15th May to September 2000 as announced by Nasser El Ansary., General Director of the Institute. An exceptional collection of monuments referred to the beginnings of Christianity will be exhibited over 1200 square meters of the first and second floor of the Institute building in France. The latest exhibition of Monuments referred to Christianity was held in 1964 in Le Petit Palais following the German exhibition that took place in Essen, Germany. The actual exhibition will present a larger panorama to the interrested visitors of L'Institut du Monde Arabe that covers the historical events of (coptisisme) in Egypt as from the origins till nowadays. The main focus of the exhibition will be Christianity in Roman Egypt, Beginnings of that specific art, Coptic Language, Monasticism in Egypt, Burial Traditions and the Practice of traditional Pharaonic Magic, the daily life events are to be underlined as well that include agriculture, commerce and artifacts in workshops.
The workshop on" Status of the Pilot Project for the Sustainable Development of the Submarine Archaeological Sites at Qayet Bey" gathered in Alexandria by the end of 1999. The workshop's recommendations insisted on the maximum use to be made of all available information as an important step for the construction and maintenance of the projected Underwater Archaeological Museum/Park. Complementary data is to be collected on Socio-economical and biophysical components.
A great project is overviewing the construction of an underwater Museum/Park to let visitors admire the beauty of the remains of The Timonium. A whole city is lying under the water and great measurements are to be taken to clear the surroundings and set the under water site for visits.
The German Archaeological Mission together with the SCA staff working in the Delta area could locate an agricultural village in El Charkiah that is considered as a specimen of Delta villages. These villages comprise houses built in mudbricks along an unpaved path running between crops' and rice fields. Archaeologists had a good surprise, as a large city was located underneath the agricultural area. The discovered city includes a stable covering 17.000m2 as it includes a big workshop where carts and arms were made.
The German team had used very advanced equipment to detect the city of Per-Ramses, the used technology rely on magnetic rays to detect what is under the sea level. The city lies 30 km under the sea level. Ramses II had moved Egypt's capital from Thebes in the south to the north. His plan was to come closer to Syria and Turkey. The actual discovery is giving to archaeologists a great work to accomplish as excavations, studies, preservation, storage, surveys...etc all related work has to be performed on a long term to come up with what history needs. So... wait for further details in the years to come as the discovered area is estimated to be 1: 15 from the total expected area of Per-Ramses.
As from January the first access to the pyramid area will be through El Fayoum Road. The safety project specially set has terminated. A stable was built and is designed for horses and camels arranged for tourists. The southern area of the third Pyramid will witness all modern activities while the monument area is to be left for visits. Preservation measures taken inside the Pyramid of Menkaure will close it for visits after March 1st.
PREVIOUS New Bulletins:
20 September 1999
22 November 1999