Amheida: Architectural Conservation and Site Development Work, 2004-2009

Abstract

Amheida poses numerous challenges to both its excavators and its custodians. . Aside from human threats, the surviving mud brick architecture of the site, where standing above ground level, is highly vulnerable to erosion by the strong winds prevalent in the oasis. Both the excavators and the local inspectorate of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) are interested in finding ways to present the results of the excavation to a growing number of visitors to the oasis as well as to the interested local population. The guardianship of Amheida has been the responsibility of the Pharaonic Sector of the SCA since the site was first registered by Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1599 in 1995. Certain aspects of managing and developing the site, have been undertaken by the institutions holding the concession for its archaeological exploration: first Columbia University, during the period to 2007 and thereafter the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University. This work has had three main components: the protection of the boundaries, the conservation of standing remains, and the development of off-site facilities for both those who work there and those who may visit the site in the future. These three components are considered sequentially below.