Egyptian Archaeology in Crisis?

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There is an online article worth reading ('Cairo: Egyptology in crisis'). It is a long extract from the full article published in Current World Archaeology Issue 49. It mostly focuses on the personal role one man had in holding Egyptian archaeology and monument protection together:

After the dramatic departure of President Hosni Mubarak, attention swiftly turned to one of his high-profile ministers, the world- famous archaeologist Dr Zahi Hawass. No stranger to the glare of the media spotlight, Hawass quickly became tainted along with the crumbling regime and was engulfed by damaging charges of corruption and mismanagement. On Sunday 17 July, Hawass was abruptly sacked as the Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs in an overhaul of the country’s cabinet, and his controversial reign as one of the most powerful men in the archaeological world finally came to an end.

Controversial he may have been, but the article contrasts what had been the case in the decade after he became Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) on 1 January 2002, and what followed the 28th January breakout of looting. Readers of this blog may be aware that this was the position I took back in the spring of 2011.  Hawass' position was undermined by his colleagues, both Egyptian and foreign, and destabilisation was the only possible outcome.

SCA’s newly appointed Secretary General [...]  has a tough task ahead of him. [he] needs immediately to curtail the increased looting of sites across the country. Many archaeological locations have been 
left vulnerable to opportunistic raiders following the uprising, with dozens of sites looted, including tombs and storage magazines in Saqqara, Dahshur, and Giza. [The new head] urgently needs to bring a steady hand to the SCA, which has been weakened by the departure of Hawass and the uncertainty of a new era in Egypt’s history. With a demoralised and disgruntled archaeological workforce, an appropriate balance of preservation, promotion and clear leadership is required to ensure the priceless heritage in Egypt is protected for future generations. 

Sadly, the article seems to have been written in 2011 and not properly revised before publication. It gives the revenue for tourism before the revolution/coup as "last year" and naming the Secretary General of the SCA as Mohamed Abdel Fattah (in the post July-September 2011) rather than the present incumbent (Mustafa Amin, 29 September 2011-present). Neither does it make any reference to the new Minister of State of Antiquities Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Aly (appointed c. 7th December 2011). Nevertheless with that caveat, it is still worth reading to balance the rather negative press that Zahi Hawass has been receiving over the past year.

"Emma", 'Cairo: Egyptology in crisis', Current World Archaeology online, March 29, 2012 World Archaeology, 49

Vignette:  An Egyptian soldier stands guard inside the tomb of Maya the treasurer. Photograph by Reza