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SEE Interviews Egyptologist Dr. Hisham Al-Laithi


Tue 18 Oct 2022 | 08:16 PM
Dr. Hisham El-Leithi, Head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center
Dr. Hisham El-Leithi, Head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center
Written by Omnia Ahmed, Israa Farhan & Edited by Ahmad El-Assy

On Tuesday, Sada El-Balad English (SEE) News interviewed Dr. Hisham El-Leithi, Head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center.

Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center

The meeting discussed the center's role in recording ancient antiques. El-Leithi revealed that Tharwat Okasha came up with the idea of the center in 1955. This step aimed to save the antiques from drowning.

He pointed out that the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center was developed with the participation of UNESCO in 1956.

The head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center highlighted Dr. Zahi Hawass' great role in restoring the antiques as well as new discoveries during the last 10 years.

Moreover, he stated that Hawass established a school to teach everyone who is interested in antiques for free. Around 400 people from this school specialized in archeology and assumed several roles.

Temple of Esna

Dr. Hisham El-Leithi, Head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center said that the Temple of Esna was documented in 1990 but it was discovered in 1848.

El-Leithi added that the German mission participated in the restoration works of the temple. "The decorations were brilliantly breathtaking and proved that Egyptian men in the modern time are able as much as ancient men."

The Head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center stated: "Meanwhile, the center is working on Agoza palace in Luxor."

Documenting, Recording Antiques in Egypt

El-Leithi underlined the tourism ministry's exerted efforts in documenting and recording the antiques in Egypt.

The Egyptian Egyptologist unveiled a partnership with South Korea in the antique sector.

Rosetta Stone's 200th Anniv.

Dr. Hisham El-Leithi, Head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center said that Khaled Al-Anani the former Minister of Antiquities decided to commemorate images of monuments of the 19th century under the title of "Egyptian Antiquities in the 19th Century."

El-Leithi added that Al-Anani made this decision to remind the Egyptians how the monuments look in the 19th century.

The Head of the Antiquities Registration Egyptian Center pointed out that the Rosetta Stone was discovered on July 15, 1799, in Bey Citadel and in 1800, The French took it.

He said: "In 1882, the stone was taken to the British Museum until this day. The scripts written on the Rosetta stone are the Ancient Egyptian Language and the Greek language."

He noted that all the points above made the Rosetta Stone more valuable than other stones, as it was not the only stone that has a script written on it.

"Jean-François Champollion, a french philologist decided to decipher the scripts on the stone which took him a long period of time."

According to El-Leithi, on September 27, 1922, Champollion managed to decipher all the symbols written on the stone.