You quote „the Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif
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- 1. At on , wendym wrote:
– A stela is a freestanding stone that’s often inscribed, carved or decorated, which is then arnesi upright durante the ground as per commemorative spettacolo for a person or event. Hope that helps.
Blaming Europeans for salvaging and interpreting ancient monuments is just pathetic
Great page! It looks like the exact photo used on the British Museum diamante stone jigsaw that I am currenly really, really struggling with. This will really help. 😀
of course it was found by the French con the context of Napoleon’s invasion of the country, and then appropriated by the British when they defeated him, and the French and the British argued over it. No-one seems onesto have considered that it belonged onesto neither of them.“ The stone was removed from the temple where Ptolemy’s priests first erected it either by the Persians or the Arabs, then ended up as rubble by action of the Ottomans. Modern Egypt rose, thanks to European intervention, from the rubble of the Ottoman pigiare. From the Persian invasion onwards, its language, culture and politics have per niente link and bear per niente resemblance whatsoever with ancient Egypt – they only happen sicuro occupy the same spogliarello on both margins of the Nile. The Arabs removed countless pieces – especially the columns – from ancient Egyptian and Greek temples sicuro prop up their mosques. Mediante the process, Islam erased most of what then existed of Egyptian culture. Modern Egyptians would prezzo hot or not have in nessun caso idea of their „heritage“ if it wasn’t for the efforts of European scientists.
As a European Egyptologist, I must admit that I am always struck by the continuity between ancient and modern Egypt durante so many ways, despite the changes per religion and languages over the centuries. And the Egyptian language survived into the Christian Period, of course. Many accounts have down-played the extent that Egypt has been interested per its own past, but more recent studies are regnante-assessing this, such as Okasha el-Daly?s rete di emittenti on medieval Egyptian scholar?s attitude sicuro the antiquities, and Donald Reid?s sistema on early modern Egyptian Egyptology. And niente affatto one can question modern Egypt?s commitment onesto the study and preservation of its own heritage. Incidenrtally, the reuse of earlier monuments for building material is something that was very extensively practised by the pharaohs themselves, most famously perhaps by Ramses II. Richard Parkinson, curator British Museum
Different cultures will apply very similar solutions to the basic needs for food and shelter, when successively occupying the same terrain under the same climate, unless new production and transportation technologies are brought to bear. This may give an impression of continuity. The peasants I’ve seen waiting at train stations mediante the Sbocco could very well, by dress and demeanour, be taken for their predecessors on the way sicuro the market 3,000 years ago. However, instead of the deep connection puro the land and puro the rhythms of the river one would expect preciso see back then, their faces spoke only of dislocation and despair. The Egyptian language – or its descendant dialects – survived indeed con many places into the Christian Period, but was mostly replaced by Arabic not too long after the Muslim conquest. Before Champollion’s rete informatica, what was left of its original writing could not be read. And yes, stones – columns, statues, lastra – were constantly reused by many civilisations and turned into rubble. One has only preciso visit the Citadel durante Cairo preciso see that. So, again, my point: why the reprimand to Europeans implicit durante your quote? „?of course it was found by the French durante the context of Napoleon’s invasion of the country, and then appropriated by the British when they defeated him, and the French and the British argued over it. No-one seems to have considered that it belonged sicuro neither of them.“ The stone belonged esatto in nessun caso-one. Should the French soldiers who found it have left it where it was, or the British not have taken it onesto London, perhaps thinking that one day, maybe, the rightful owners, whoever they turned out preciso be, would get around esatto reading it? There is per niente moral case for leaving knowledge buried sopra deference puro ignorance.