“There is no other site like it,” states the introductory paragraph on the website of the Amarna Project – the body which, since 2005, has been responsible for excavations and research at Tell el-Amarna, the short-lived capital city of the “heretic pharaoh” Akhenaten (who may well have been King Tut's dad) in the 14th century BC. As a living site, Tell el-Amarna is perhaps unparalleled in all of Egypt in terms of scale, ready accessibility and quality of preservation.
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"It does seem to me perverse that the Bust of Nefertiti is not in Egypt. But I doubt if its return is imminent."
The results of the 'What value do replicas hold?' Heritage Key survey are in! Everybody agrees that a replica - regardless of how real it looks - can only ever be a duplicate. Yet the vast majority (79.28%) of those who took our 'What value do replicas hold?' survey see good use for these clones, in educations, research, protection from damage and saving on travel costs.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Mon, 12/21/2009 - 13:34
Yesterday saw Dr Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Antiquities chief, travel to Berlin to discuss the future of the Bust of Nefertiti with the director of the Neues Museum, her current home (watch a slideshow about the move). Yet statements released by both parties today appear to disagree on what was to be said at the showdown.
Repaired, refurbished and re-imagined by architect David Chipperfield – controversially, in the eyes of some – the new Neues represents a triumphant meeting of history and modernity, emphasising a strong connection between the museum’s venerable and turbulent past and its bright and very promising future.
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The reopening was a historical date. The reconstruction and reopening with the reunited collections would not have been possible without the reunification of Germany.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Thu, 11/19/2009 - 15:33
The opening of Berlin's Neues Museum and its ceremonial re-unveiling of the Bust of Nefertiti has provided a stark contrast to the recent climate on the repatriation of ancient artefacts. At the forefront of the debate is Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA): marauding worldwide with dossiers in hand, strong-arming museums into giving Egypt back its most prized possessions. Dr Hawass even sent one of his antiquities droogs to Berlin this month with a letter for the Neues' director. One can imagine it won't be a shining eulogy to his work.
According to the NY Times, an official from the Neues Museum in Berlin is headed to Egypt to discuss Dr. Hawass’s demand for the Neues' star attraction, the bust of Nefertiti. If it were up to you, where would the famous bust be returned or stay in Germany? Would you ship back the Rosetta Stone to Egypt? Return the Eglin Marbles to Greece so they can be reunited with the ones that Lord Elgin left behind? Take our survey now!
Egypt threathening to severe ties with the Louvre museum led to five looted Pharaonic steles returning to Egypt and maybe even to Tetiki's tomb of which they were illegally removed. But the directory general of the SCA, Dr. Zahi Hawass, is on a quest that he hopes will lead to the high-profile "icons of the Egyptian identity" returning to the Cairo Museum. What's on the wishlist? First and foremore the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum and the Nefertiti Bust from the Neues.
Reopened in October 2009
