Almost a month after his resignation, renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass was officially reappointed as holder of Egypt's antiquities portfolio in the caretaker cabinet, Nevine El-Aref reports The reappointment of renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass as overseer of Egypt's antiquities portfolio in Essam Sharaf's caretaker cabinet has whipped up something of a storm in the archaeological world. While Hawass's supporters insist he is the most suitable candidate, his opponents cast doubt on the integrity of his return. Hawass is no stranger to controversy. Though a popular figure in the media, many welcomed his resignation last month. So why is he back at his post, and why did the prime minister reconsider the antiquities portfolio after leaving the post vacant for three weeks? What have become of the allegations against the former head of the old Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)? Whatever has been said about Hawass -- and a great deal has -- the minister of state for antiquities affairs is never going to be accused of being a wallflower. Ever since Hosni Mubarak appointed him secretary-general of the SCA in 2002, Hawass has courted the media spotlight with a fervour few would have imagined in the rarefied world of archaeology. He most recently hit the headlines when he demanded the return of five key ancient Egyptian treasures -- including the painted bust of Queen Nefertiti -- from foreign museums. A short time earlier he had led the team that carried out the CT scan on the mummy of Tutankhamun and his family which enabled him to identify the Pharaoh's lineage. He has also succeeded in restituting 5,000 stolen and smuggled antiquities, as well as building new state-of-the-art storehouses and national museums. At the same time his job involved a great deal that was less newsworthy, and much of his time and effort was spent on upgrading the skills and knowledge of the department's 30,000 employees. Hawass is a prominent international figure. In 2005 he was chosen as one of Time magazine's 100 best personalities of the year, while the National Geographic Society chose him as one of eight most important discoverers in the world. Nevertheless, his controversial personality divided colleagues and observers. When he was first appointed Egypt's minister of state for antiquities affairs two months ago, protesters were seen picketing the Zamalek offices of the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs (MSAA) campaigning for employment within the newly-created ministry. Others demanded better pay and equality. At the same time, as a result of the uprising and the absence of police, the Egyptian Museum and several archaeological sites were broken into and looted by armed gangs. Frustrated at the situation of the country's antiquities, Hawass resigned as minister, citing his inability to protect the nation's treasures. "I cannot remain at the MSAA and see antiquities being stolen when I cannot do anything to stop it," Hawass said in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly. "The situation is unbearable, especially since I have always fought to return stolen artefacts to Egypt." Of the recent protests, Hawass said: "Sadly, I cannot give a job to everyone." Yet he did manage to find the funds to provide nearly 2,000 trainee positions. Even before he was appointed minister of state for antiquities affairs at the end of January, Hawass had been seeking funds to create jobs for the country's many archaeology graduates. During his tenure, Hawass increased salaries twice and offered medical benefits and insurance. He was also working on setting up a syndicate for archaeologists, and had arranged several training scholarships for restorers and excavators. Hawass himself has been the victim of the current disorder, having been the butt of a campaign, believed to be led by two disgruntled antiquities employees, accusing him of smuggling Egyptian heirlooms out of the country on behalf of the family of former president Hosni Mubarak, as well as of enabling suspected "Zionist organisations" (namely the National Geographic Society) to enter the Egyptian Museum eight years ago and mishandle ancient Egyptian antiquities. Hawass has asked Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud to conduct investigations into the allegations. He told the Weekly that they were "unfounded and nonsensical", and that there was no evidence to support the claims. The Weekly has seen copies of documents recording previous disciplinary actions taken against the employees who accused Hawass, showing that their salaries had been withdrawn and that they had been suspended from duty. As for the so-called Zionist organisation, Hawass told the Weekly that it was a renowned American scientific society. He denied signing an agreement with National Geographic, saying it was a protocol whereby Egypt received a CT-scan machine worth $5 million so Egyptian scientists could conduct research on the mummy of Tutankhamun. In return, he added, National Geographic filmed the scientific work as it was undertaken. The society paid an additional $60,000 to the treasury of the SCA. Meanwhile, Hawass, former minister of culture Farouk Hosni and the director of the Alexandria Museum, Ibrahim Darwish, have been accused of offering a gold necklace that once belonged to Princess Samiha Hussein, a daughter of Sultan Hussein Kamil (1853-1917), to former Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak at the reopening of the Jewellery Museum in Alexandria in April last year. Darwish said evidence proving that the accusation was unfounded had been presented to the prosecutor-general. The museum's collection was strictly inventoried. "Nothing from the museum's collection has been removed," Darwish said. "No official, whatever his position, may do such a thing." Hawass affirmed that no artefacts could be removed from any museum without government approval, and said he had never given such approval or helped facilitate the giving of artefacts as gifts. Mona El-Kadi, director of the Jewellery Museum, has said that the story resulted from a joke Mrs Mubarak made during the museum's official inauguration following restoration. Kadi said the object in question was not a gold necklace as had been published in the press, but an ivory eyeglass cover embellished with small diamonds and engraved with the initials of Princess Samiha Hussein. Mrs Mubarak, Kadi continued, had commented that "S.H." might have stood for Suzanne and Hosni instead of Samiha Hussein. "And we all laughed in return," Kadi said. "This is the truth and it is documented in the film screened on Egyptian TV." In the wake of Hawass's resignation, several foreign museums that had proffered to return looted and smuggled artefacts to Egypt had retracted their promises. Hawass used his worldwide reputation to call for the return of smuggled Egyptian treasures now in the possession of foreign museums, auction halls and private collectors. According to a quote from a spokeswoman for the Cologne- based International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art, Ursula Kampmann, in an article written on 10 March by Vernon Silver in Bloomberg Businessweek magazine: "The incidents during the Egyptian revolution could be taken as a basis for a change of discussion. It comes to the question, what is the best way to protect our world's cultural heritage?" Silver ended his article: "Western collectors and curators may gain further advantage with the departure of Hawass, who cemented his celebrity by hounding museums for artefacts." When Sharaf appointed his cabinet he rejoined the MSAA to the Ministry of Culture. However, this did not suit many archaeologists, who protested in front of the cabinet building the day after the announcement was made demanding an independent ministry for antiquities. Sharaf then agreed to leave the MSAA as an independent body under the direct control of the cabinet. Despite Sharaf's meeting with Alaa Shahin, former dean of archaeology at Cairo University, in which the prime minister asked him to take on Egypt's antiquities portfolio, he did not take the oath and was never officially appointed. The post remained vacant for almost a month until Hawass was reappointed this week. As much as such an appointment has pleased some people, it has also raised the hackles of those who believe Hawass's resignation was a media pose to attract sympathy. Talking to the Weekly, Hawass said he had accepted the post because he could not live without antiquities, and antiquities could not live without him. "I realise that now I can come back and help to remove all the encroachments on archaeological sites and restore the image of archaeology," he said. On his first day back in his office, Hawass met senior MSAA officials and a representative of the Higher Council of the Armed Forces to discuss encroachments made on archaeological sites in the aftermath of the January revolution and implement procedures outlined by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. They discussed which sites had been affected and outlined plans to act with the assistance of the army. Sabry Abdel-Aziz, head of the Pharaonic Sector at the MSAA, said the areas affected included Cairo, Giza, Qalioubiya, Helwan, Faiyoum, Beni Sweif, Minya and 6 October governorates. Hawass appears undeterred by the recent allegations against him. "I am very happy that all the accusations proved to be unfounded according to the investigation carried out by the prosecutor-general," he told the Weekly. "If there were one single piece of evidence against me, the government would never ask me to take the post." Hawass also assured his foreign colleagues that they would work together to restore the antiquities section. He announced plans to rearrange the MSAA and would formulate changes to make the staff more proactive.
