It seems almost facile to think of the consequences for archaeology of the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in Egypt. There are so many more pressing matters. Yet, the fall of the old guard, if that is what happened, will surely affect the country’s cultural policy, and perhaps the status of Egypt’s supreme guardian of antiquities, Zahi Hawass. In the days following the looting of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Hawass was promoted to Mubarak’s sham cabinet as minister of antiquities. Hawass then issued statements defending Mubarak and denigrating the street protesters. There are now claims that Hawass tried to downplay the significance of the Cairo Museum looting. At present it’s unknown to me whether authoritarian tyranny in Egypt has been genuinely toppled. Though not a priority, what happens to government heritage and archaeology policy – always an arena for conflict and control – could be quite telling of the country’s overall direction.
update
from Bikyamasr: Egypt’s antiquities chief under fire
‘… “Get out,” chanted a crowd of 150 archaeology graduates outside Hawass’ office on Monday. The protest was highly personal: demonstrators called Hawass a “showman” who seeks publicity and has little regard for the thousands of archaeology students who are unable to find work in their field.’
update 2 (5/3/11)
There are reports that Zahi Hawass has resigned as antiquities minister: see links at Looting Matters and at CultureGrrl.
February 14, 2011 at 5:15 pm
No matter what happens to Zahi Hawass in the post-Mubarak era, he has done great service to Egypt and Africa as far as restitution is concerned. He has also made archaeology fascinating for the general public. But we should not think that restitution starts and ends with the presence of Hawass. The issue will remain as long as the West retains illegally and illegitimately the cultural artefacts of other nations. When all of us are gone, if things remain as they are, the resultant problems will have to be resolved, with or without Zahi Hawass,t he man who brought great dedication and enthusiasm to his work. Dr.Kwame Opoku.