Supreme Council of Antiquities
Encyclopedia
The Supreme Council of Antiquities (often called SCA) is the branch of the Egypt
ian Ministry of Culture
responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt
. Established in 1859 as the Department of Antiquities, then renamed the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation in 1971, the SCA acquired its present title in 1994 by presidential decree. The SCA is responsible for defining the boundaries around archaeological sites and is also the only agent permitted to restore or preserve Egyptian monuments. Foreign archaeologists working in Egypt are required to report all discoveries and finds to the SCA before publication, a somewhat controversial rule that has led to the expulsion of archaeologists from Egypt. The SCA also oversees the recovery of antiquities either stolen or illegally exported from Egypt, and between 2002 and 2008 retrieved 3,000 artifacts. It is currently embroiled in a dispute with the Berlin Museum over the bust of Nefertiti, which it claims was removed from the country by deceit. Previously it has asked for the return of the Rosetta Stone
from the British Museum
and the Dendara Zodiac
from the Louvre
.
The SCA is governed by an Administrative Council, headed by the Minister of Culture, currently Farouk Hosny
, and a Secretary General, currently Zahi Hawass
. The SCA headquarters are located in the Zamalek
neighborhood of Cairo
.
Since January 2011 the SCA became an independent ministry and the name was changed to Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA).
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Culture (Egypt)
The Ministry of Culture of Egypt is a ministry responsible for maintaining and promoting the culture of Egypt. The current Minister is Dr. Emad Badr El-Din Mahmoud Abu Ghazy.-Critics:...
responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Established in 1859 as the Department of Antiquities, then renamed the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation in 1971, the SCA acquired its present title in 1994 by presidential decree. The SCA is responsible for defining the boundaries around archaeological sites and is also the only agent permitted to restore or preserve Egyptian monuments. Foreign archaeologists working in Egypt are required to report all discoveries and finds to the SCA before publication, a somewhat controversial rule that has led to the expulsion of archaeologists from Egypt. The SCA also oversees the recovery of antiquities either stolen or illegally exported from Egypt, and between 2002 and 2008 retrieved 3,000 artifacts. It is currently embroiled in a dispute with the Berlin Museum over the bust of Nefertiti, which it claims was removed from the country by deceit. Previously it has asked for the return of the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
from the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and the Dendara Zodiac
Dendera zodiac
The sculptured Dendera zodiac is a widely known Egyptian bas-relief from the ceiling of the pronaos of a chapel dedicated to Osiris in the Hathor temple at Dendera, containing images of Taurus and the Libra . This chapel was begun in the late Ptolemaic period; its pronaos was added by the...
from the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
.
The SCA is governed by an Administrative Council, headed by the Minister of Culture, currently Farouk Hosny
Farouk Hosny
Farouk Hosny , is an Egyptian abstract painter who was Minister of Culture from 1987 to 2011.-Early life and career:...
, and a Secretary General, currently Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
. The SCA headquarters are located in the Zamalek
Zamalek
Zamalek Sporting Club , is an Egyptian sporting club based in Meet Okba, Giza, Egypt that plays in the Egyptian Premier League....
neighborhood of Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Since January 2011 the SCA became an independent ministry and the name was changed to Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA).
French Directors
- Auguste Mariette (1858-1881)
- Gaston Maspero (1881-1886)
- Eugène Grébaut (1886-1892)
- Jacques de Morgan (1892-1897)
- Victor Loret (1897-1899)
- Gaston Maspero (1899-1914)
- Pierre Lacau (1914-1936)
- Étienne Drioton (1936-1952)
Egyptian Directors
- Mostafa Amer (1953-1956)
- Abbas Bayoumi (1956-1957)
- Moharram Kamal (1957-1959)
- Abd el-Fattah Hilmy (1959)
- Mohammed Anwar Shoukry (1960-1964)
- Mohammed Mahdi (1964-1966)
- Gamal Mokhtar (1967-1971)
Egyptian Antiquities Organization
- Gamal Mokhtar (1971-1977)
- Mohammed Abd el-Qader Mohammed (1977-1978)
- Shehata Adam (1978-1981)
- Fuad el-Oraby (1981)
- Ahmed Khadry (1982-1988)
- Mohammed Abdel Halim Nur el-Din (1988)
- Sayed Tawfik (1989-1990)
- Mohammed Ibrahim Bakr (1990-1993)
Supreme Council of Antiquities
- Mohammed Abdel Halim Nur el-Din (1993-1996)
- Ali Hassan (1996-1997)
- Gaballa Ali Gaballa (1997-2002)
- Zahi Hawass (2002-Present)
Ministry of State for Antiquities
- Abdelfattah al-BannaAbdelfattah al-BannaAbdelfattah al-Banna was nominated for Minister of Antiquities and days later withdrew his nomination....
(Previously nominated) - Zahi HawassZahi HawassZahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
(2011-Present)
External links
- The Supreme Council of Antiquities: Official website of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
- The Plateau: Official website of Dr Zahi Hawass
- EgyptMemory: images and products that document Egypt's History & Culture
- About the Supreme Council of Antiquities