MAY 2011 ARCE CHAPTER  TOUR: MANSOUR BOURAIK AND JOHN SHEARMAN

The American Research Center in Egypt was delighted to host Mr. Mansour Bouraik, Director General of Upper Egypt and the Oases, as a guest lecturer on a tour of our local chapters in May 2011. His visit was a wonderful opportunity to share with our members an example of how ARCE collaborates with the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) to identify and preserve Egypt’s important cultural sites. Mr. Bouraik and Mr. John Shearman, ARCE’s Associate Director of Luxor, shared with over 100 ARCE members the recent work completed in Luxor by both ARCE and the MSA.

One of the most prominent ARCE-managed projects has been the Groundwater Lowering Response Project at Karnak and Luxor temples, an extensive program of conservation monitoring, treatment, and training. This project addresses the serious problems that years of high ground water and salt percolation have caused, resulting in the destruction of the stone that makes up the temple.

A lower ground water level (the result of a USAID engineering project) has made it possible to pursue conservation of nearby monuments by ARCE and the MSA. Mr. Mansour Bouraik’s remarks elaborated on the impact of the dewatering project and the ARCE sponsored field school for ministry personnel who will be responsible for site management and excavations throughout Egypt.

Mr. Bouraik also discussed his excavations in front of Karnak temple that revealed staircases identified as the Karnak temple’s great embankment with a quay where boats would have arrived in ancient times. Remains of such vessels were identified at the site. This landing ramp and quay, built by 25th Dynasty king Taharqa, was covered in part by the remains of a later Roman city.

Seal impressions, bronze nails, statue fragments, ostraca, grinding stones, weaving tools, molds, Roman amphorae, and a jar full of Roman coins all appeared during excavation. As the excavations went deeper, a faience furnace was discovered as were a door jamb,royal fragment, and a greywacke statue of a pharaoh. An extensive Roman bath fed by a water wheel that brought water from the Nile was also discovered.

In addition to meeting and presenting to ARCE members, Mr. Bouraik also met with senior personnel at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley California, the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

At each stop, Mr. Bouraik met with curators and conservators who provided private tours of their collections, storage facilities, and conservation areas. This visit was an invaluable chance for Mr. Bouraik and his American colleagues to discuss scholarly and professional matters.

Mr. Bouraik’s visit proved to be an important opportunity to continue building good relations between American and Egyptian professionals working together to preserve Egypt’s cultural history. Mr. Bouraik was able to join ARCE for this tour due to generous funding from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC).