The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities chairs the first meeting of the Committee to Modernize Archaeological Stores

Today, Sherif Fathi, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, chaired the first meeting of the committee that he formed by ministerial decision, to develop a comprehensive and integrated plan to modernize archaeological stores and their requirements, to conduct a comprehensive review of the stores at the republic level in a way that contributes to developing them and raising their efficiency further.

The minister began the meeting by referring to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directives to establish a large central storehouse of antiquities with the highest level of technical equipment, and a unified electronic system through which this storehouse will be linked electronically. In all other stores, stressing that this is the beginning of a new phase in the system of preserving, documenting and securing Egypt’s antiquities.

The Minister formed a small working group to review all the types of stores existing in the Ministry, with the aim of codifying their numbers and identifying what needs to be further developed according to the highest methods and standards for preserving and maintaining antiquities in the world, stressing the importance of thinking about a new direction based on maximizing the efficiency of stores and reaching a number of model stores with a high level of quality with the use of modern technology and evaluating the personal custody system in place.

The meeting dealt with the current situation of the archaeological stores and a review of their needs, in addition to discussing the committee’s work plan during the coming period, which includes conducting a comprehensive field review of the stores, an accurate inventory of the development needs and the numbers of artifacts contained in these stores, and setting implementation priorities in accordance with modern scientific methods in the preservation and management of archaeological collections.

The Minister directed to study the possibility of classifying the stores into a qualitative or specialized classification in order to ensure the best preservation methods according to the nature of the archaeological materials, in addition to the necessity of full commitment to applying standards. Occupational safety and health within these warehouses, in a way that provides a safe working environment for workers and achieves the best conditions for preservation and maintenance.

He also directed the rapid completion of the preparation of an integrated vision in this regard, in preparation for presenting it during the next meeting of the committee to begin implementing the development phases according to a clear timetable and to ensure the achievement of the ministry’s goals in this regard.

It is worth noting that Sherif Fathi, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, had issued, this month, a ministerial decision to form this committee to develop a comprehensive and integrated plan to modernize the archaeological warehouses. And its requirements at the republic level.

The committee includes in its membership the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the general engineering supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum project and the surrounding area, and the legal advisor to the Minister, along with representatives of the Tourism and Antiquities Police and a number of relevant relevant authorities.

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