Egypt bans new excavations by foreign scholars

[Starlyte]

PROTECTION: Southern monuments will be off-limits for the next ten years in an attempt to prevent the destruction of rich archaeological sites

Egypt will not permit any new foreign expeditions to begin excavations in southern Egypt for the coming decade in an attempt to preserve the monuments, the antiquities chief said on Wednesday.

Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said concentration is instead needed at sites in the Nile Delta and in the desert.

"We say this for the sake of the monuments," Hawass told reporters. ``We are not going to please you [foreigners] and destroy the monuments.''

He said there are 300 foreign expeditions in the country.

"Those are scholars and re-spected ones, working in the field and who know the value of Egyptian monuments," he said. "But we also have amateurs, who can damage the monuments."

Most of the expeditions concentrate their work in the south of the country, where rich archaeological sites include the temples of Luxor and Karnak and the Valley of the Kings.

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[Althalus]

OOh look, Zahi Hawass again, he seems to be trying to stop anything egyptian from being in any other country or from being found by anyone but egyptians, but thats just what it seems like to me.

I think it is a good idea though to try and protect the monuments, with all the people going and seeing them every dayit is a good idea to try and limit the number of people who have access to them.

[Rakshasas]

In a way I must agree with him look at the nineteenth century and how many artifacts were taken out of Egypt by foriegners.