Would Kemetian monuments and relics have been kept in their current place, had it not been for their value for tourism, i.e., drawing in extra foriegn exchange?
As it is, various researchers have voiced their concern about the deteriorating nature of Kemetian monuments. It is also well known, how the relics lying in the Aswan dam, have been sacrificed.
To name just a few excerpts:
"These sites have always been in a constant state of change. Even in antiquity these temples where dismantled and reused to build other structures. Over the years, these buildings decayed, and were eroded quite literally by the sands of time. They were discovered, and then rediscovered, even now, their rebuilding is changing the face of the landscape…
The combination of on-going conservation, and renewed interest, convinced me of the importance for the need of photographic documentation of this area, at this time. Surprisingly, with all the interest in Egypt, both popular and scholarly, little effort has been given to recording this area. It is not surprising that even less attention has been paid to these sites as a point of departure for aesthetic exploration. While every day, tourists take hundreds of photographs, not since Francis Frith in 1856 has any one attempted to create a photographic catalog, of not only the sites, but to include the context of the sites in the surrounding landscape." - Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.
"The Chicago House’s limited concept of "conservation" is to record all of the scenes and inscriptions on the Waset area temples, so that volumes of books can be created and available for scholars and researchers to consult after the carvings have vanished. The problem with this approach, of course, is that we will be forever dependent on the accuracy and interpretations of the European artists and photographers of the Chicago House." - Prof. Manu Ampim
"After my 1994 trip to Egypt/Nubia, I recognized that due to the incredible rate of decay and destruction there is little time to document the surviving evidence of classical African civilizations on the monuments of this region. Thus, I recently completed my third season of field research to this area to photograph and video the evidence that is virtually disappearing from temple walls every day. In fact, there has been a threat to the survival of the Pharaonic monuments since the middle of the 19th century when these half-buried structures were removed from the sand by European adventurers. When these structures were uncovered, they were destabilized upon being exposed to the natural elements (sun, wind, and rain), and to looters who swiftly dismantled the temple structures for profit schemes and to use the stones as building material.
My 3rd season of work in Egypt and northern Nubia consisted of 5 weeks (August/September 1995) of field research. I conducted primary (first-hand) research at 27 sites throughout this Nile Valley region, from Tanis, Giza, and Sakkara in northern Egypt, to Aswan, Sehel Island, and Beit al-Wali in northern Nubia.
My main task was to observe, record, and document the vanishing evidence of classical African civilizations…
As I had expected when I returned to Egypt/Nubia in 1995, some of the temple carvings that were visible in November/December 1994 had disappeared in just eight months. The disappearance of these carvings is due mainly to the fact that nearly every ancient Egyptian temple is currently under some level of “conservation.” This so-called conservation work is being carried out by two main groups: European and American research teams, and Egyptians working under the auspices of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Antiquities Organization). In many cases, these two groups have not conserved the monuments by keeping them from further damage or lost, but rather they have permanently damaged and even deliberately destroyed images and inscriptions that have been in existence for thousands of years.
The wall surface of the great Karnak Temple of Egypt is literally being taken apart stone by stone, as “conservation” workers are removing dozens of pounds of rock and wall material every day and discarding them as debris. The rate of defacement and destruction of Karnak and other temples is stunning. I have documented in just over half a year the progressive lost and calculated damage to the temple carvings…" - Prof. Manu Ampim.
Prof Ampim notes that, "Brian Fagan in his book on The Rape of Egypt (1975) documents a list of culprits: the Christian Copts who destroyed statues and monuments; the conquering Arabs who dismantled ancient buildings; and the 18th and 19th century European travelers, adventurers, and archeologists who were treasure hunters, plunderers, and looters. It was during the 19th century that a vast number of ancient Egyptian artifacts were excavated, but most of these discoveries were not adequately documented, with original on-site photographs and detailed field reports, which are now standard procedures within the archeological field."
History shows us that even Mummies may not have survived!
"Mummy comes from the Persian word mummeia. It means 'pitch' or 'asphalt,' which was naturally occurring crude oil that oozed to the surface. Mummeia was a prized medicine in Europe, but was in limited supply.
In time, clever business entrepreneur took resin from mummies and sold it as mummeia. It wasn't long until entire mummies, including dried bones and flesh were ground up and peddled it as medicine also. Soon the term mummy was extended to the lot. Would you try it yourself?
If you find all of this bizarre, there is more to be told. The export of mummies became big business in the fifteenth century with their export for medicinal purposes. More were taken for European museum collections. Many ended up in private collections or the dusty basements of universities. In the nineteenth century, Canadian paper manufacturers imported mummies to use the linen wrappings to make high quality rag paper; the fate of the bodies is not known. Mark Twain rreported the use of mummies for fuel in the steam engines of the Egyptian railways.” - University of Illinois, Chicago
"The warning has been sounded. Loud and clear. Egypt’s famed Valley of the Kings...is in danger itself of the death it silently encloses. In less than 25 years—unless something is done urgently—the valley of priceless ancient tombs could become the valley of ochre mud. And responsible is the planet’s prime agent of destruction—man himself." - John Romer; The Valley of Death.
Destruction under foreign rulers >
"Few visitors to the Giza plateau are aware that the pyramids, Egypt's Old Kingdom treasures and testaments to early pharaonic history, were almost dismantled about 170 years ago. It is hard to imagine that these ancient structures, the most popular tourist sights in Egypt, were nearly sacrificed as part of the plan to modernize that country. Yet, shocking as the idea now seems, Egypt's absolute ruler [Muhammad Ali Pashaf Albanian descent] at the time seriously envisioned and nearly executed the project." - Jean Daniel Stanley
[This message has been edited by Super car (edited 05 May 2005).]
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