African archaeology: Egypt’s desert art in danger
Posted by sociolingo on December 16, 2007
Archaeologica.org is a great site and newsfeed for archaeological news. I try and keep an eye on it for Africa news. The following item shows how the increase in tourism to formerly inaccessible places is bringing a mixed blessing to those regions.
Egypt’s desert art in danger
(AFP)22 November 2007
CAIRO - A rising tide of travellers seeking out the new frontier of Egyptian tourism is threatening priceless rock art preserved for millennia in one of the most-isolated reaches of the Sahara.
In Egypt’s southwest corner, straddling the borders of Sudan and Libya, the elegant paintings of prehistoric man and beast in the mountains of Gilf Kabir and Jebel Ouenat are as stunning in their simplicity as anything by Picasso.
But lying 500 kilometres (330 miles) from the nearest habitation, the desert offers little sanctuary for these masterpieces and any effective protected designation first requires a deal between the three sometimes quarrelsome nations.
Not only the rock art is at stake, but the region’s entire cultural and natural heritage.
Posted in AFRICA, AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY, AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY, AFRICAN ARTS AND CRAFTS, AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AFRICAN CULTURE, African art, African cultural heritage, Egypt, Libya, Sudan | No Comments »
