Update from the Gurob Harem Palace Project 2013

With thanks to Ian Shaw for emailing this to GHPP members this afternoon:

Dear GHPP members

Usually by now we would have been halfway through the season and you would have been receiving our daily blogs from the Gurob Harem Palace Project.  Unfortunately this year we have been forced to postpone our work in Egypt until September. This is because of a dispute between the Ministry of Antiquities and the Egyptian army as to whether our site is ‘military’ or ‘antiquities’ land. Although we were as usual given permission by the Ministry of Antiquities to undertake all aspects of our fieldwork at Gurob, we are unable to enter the site until the issue with the army is resolved.

In order to find out the current situation and, equally importantly, to reassure the Ministry of Antiquities of our continued commitment to the cultural heritage at Gurob, I’m currently in Egypt and have been able to speak to Dr Mohammed Ismail, the MSA Director with responsibility for foreign missions in Egypt, as well as to Ahmed Abd el-Aal, the chief inspector of the Faiyum region, within whose jurisdiction Gurob is located. Both have expressed optimism that the problem with the army can be sorted out in time for us to continue our work in September. I have also been able to informally visit the site, which appears to be largely still in good shape, and being looked after as well as possible by the local guards.

We will keep you informed over the summer as to progress on the preparations for a September season, and we will of course be able to continue work on our databases and on the analysis and interpretation of the evidence we’ve obtained from the site so far. Our annual GHPP Conference will also wait until after the September season.

As always, our grateful thanks for your continued support of the Gurob Harem Palace Project

Regards

Ian

Ian Shaw

Director, Gurob Harem Palace Project