BA Antiquities Museum Organizes a Polish-Egyptian Conservation Seminar
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The Bibliotheca Alexandrina Antiquities Museum is organizing, in cooperation with the Polish Conservators of Historic Monuments Institution, a two-day event at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina titled “Protection of Cultural Heritage: Polish-Egyptian Conservation Seminar”.
The seminar program includes presentations that will be given by Egyptian and Polish conservators in topics dealing with the protection of historical sites and the conservation of artifacts.
The opening session starts on Tuesday at 11:00 am. Welcome speeches will be given by Ismail Serageldin, Director of the BA; Samia Rashwan, Director of the BA Antiquities Museum; Marek Barański, Conservator at the Polish Conservators of Historic Monuments Institution; and Michał Mierzwa, First Counselor, Trade and Investment Section, Polish Embassy in Cairo.
The first session of the seminar, titled “Conservation of Cultural Heritage Sites”, deals with different topics, such as the research and inspection required before restoration, the conservation of wall paintings and wooden structures, the use of new media for history presentation in heritage sites, and heritage management in times of crisis. As for the second session, the topics discussed will mainly revolve around the new technologies implemented in the conservation of both historical sites and artifacts.
The second day will be dedicated to field visits. This will include the Manuscript Restoration lab in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the conservation facility at the Centre d’Études Alexandrines in Tabyet el-Nahaseen, and the historical site of Kom el-Dikka. During the visits, archaeologists and specialized conservators will discuss the conservation methods applied to the different materials, either in situ or after the artifacts are transported to laboratories.
It is worth mentioning that the Polish-Egyptian cooperation in the field of scientific research and protection of cultural heritage begun in 1959 with excavations at the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria. Polish-Egyptian archaeological and conservation projects include, among others, pharaonic sites in Deir el-Bahari and Sakkara, Roman sites in Kom el-Dikka and Marina el-Alamein, a Coptic basilica restoration project in El-Ashmunein, and Islamic monument conservation work, such as the restoration of the Mamluk Mosque of Sultan al-Ashraf Inal and Amir Qurqumas in the Great Cemetery (Qarafa al-Kubra) in Cairo. The cooperation also includes training for Egyptian conservators.