Posted on 10/09/2009 4:47:57 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
Egypt wants to borrow the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum after winning a battle with France over ownership of painted rock fragments “stolen” from the Valley of the Kings.
The French culture ministry has decided to return the 3,200-year-old frescoes, which disappeared in the 1980s, Egypt said, and were acquired by the Louvre in Paris in 2000 and 2003.
Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s supreme council of antiquities, had threatened to sever relations with the Louvre unless it handed back the relics. That would have forced the French museum to suspend excavation work in the Pharaonic necropolis of Saqarra.
Mr Hawass told The Daily Telegraph that the return of the painted fragments would “warn every museum not to buy stolen artefacts”.
He now wants the British Museum to lend the Rosetta Stone to Cairo. The artefact, dating from 196BC, carries inscriptions in Greek and Egyptian that first enabled hieroglyphics to be deciphered.
“I am not asking for all the objects in the British Museum to come back, only for the unique objects to come back to Egypt,” he said.
The basalt stone was discovered by French soldiers in 1799, but was ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Alexandria in 1801 and moved to the British Museum the following year.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The artifact reflect Egyptian culture. the ruler may have been of Greek descent but they styled themselves as Egyptian Pharaohs
And as for the cliche “Possession is 9/10ths law” I would suggest you NOT try it in any courtroom (even those with Democratic appointed Judges) anywhere in the civilized world, whether they have Common Law, Hindu Law, Moslem Law, Napoleonic Law or any established body of law.
They also need to get the Elgin Marbles back to Greece. The Poms should know that the spoils of empire were often THEFT.
Not quite. Most Muslim Egyptians are a mix of indigenous Egyptians, Arabs, Turks, Albanians (!), and Nubians, amongst others. The Copts tend to have more indigenous ancestry, but many also have Greek ancestry as well.
Yes, you are correct. The Muslim Arabs have some “genuine” Egyptian blood in them. However, culturally speaking they have chosen to call themselves “Arab” and have rejected their Egyptian heritage and culture.
Which is fine. If you want to be Arab, then kudos to you. You have a long and fine history of science etc to be proud of. Arabs have done well in art, history, science etc.
However, the Copts are PROUD to be Egyptians They may have trace bloodlines of other cultures, but they view themselves as sons of the soil of Egypt
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Thanks Pan_Yan. |
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Interesting link. Thanks for posting it.
I always figured that if I ever had to strip for money, “Rosetta Stone” would be my stage name.
“Fine. Give the Hagia Sophia back to the Christians.”
As it is now a museum, its debatable as to whether it even belongs to ‘the muslims’.....
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