Illegal Research and Excavation of Antiquities Between Law and Reality
Major General Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Zaher, lecturer at the Faculty of Archeology at Cairo University, the Library of Congress and the Police Academy.
14 November 2017
12:00 PM
The Afterlife Section at the Antiquities Museum lower first floor (B1) of the main building of the B
The BA Antiquities Museum is organizing a lecture entitled "Illegal Research and Excavation of Antiquities Between Law and Reality" on Tuesday, 14 November 2017 at 12:00 pm in the Afterlife Section at the Antiquities Museum lower first floor (B1) of the main building of the BA. The lecture will be held by Major General Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Zaher, lecturer at the Faculty of Archeology at Cairo University, the Library of Congress and the Police Academy.
It deals with the research and the illegal excavation of ancient artifacts, which is the act of drilling, hidden from the eyes of individuals and government agencies and is contrary to the provisions of the law. This is known as stealth drilling. The excavation is a stealth infrastructure for the smuggling of antiquities, which provides a large number of artifacts to the black market. Traders of antiquities and smugglers balance out the amount needed to spend on them.
The actual situation in the illegal excavation differs from its legal counterpart, because to some people, it is a get-rich-quick scheme. In their eyes, drilling under their homes and lands does not represent an attack on the property of others, claiming that what is below them is theirs. Additionally, some opinions and fatwa exist that allow this digging. It is also done by criminals.
Nevertheless, the legal status criminalizes the drilling and puts penalties in case of violation. The law of Antiquities No. 117 of 1983, amended by Law No. 3 of 2010 and Law No. 61 of 2010, includes provisions on the criminalization and punishment in that matter.
The statistics indicate that the phenomenon of illegal research and excavation of antiquities is increasing steadily, due to the overlap of a number of factors. The measures to confront them are no longer sufficient to limit them and keep up with their developments. Furthermore, current efforts of preventing and confronting this criminal threat cannot remain a sufficient means of addressing this concern. Therefore, it must be modified, and new procedures that commensurate this development must be put in order to reduce illicit excavations.