Minister of Culture Ahmed Fouad Hanno, has referred several senior officials from the South Upper Egyptian Cultural Region to investigation as he discovered what he termed as ‘ unauthorised excavation, possibly linked to illegal antiquities digging’, at a government-run cultural site in Luxor.
Minister Hanno was on an inspected tour at the Luxor Culture Palace and the Child Palace in Luxor, which are at present under renovation and works as part of the infrastructure development plan for cultural facilities affiliated to the General Authority for Culture Palaces.
During the visit, the minister revealed that the company carrying out renovation and upgrading works at the Child Culture Palace had surreptitiously dug several metres into one of the rooms in an apartment belonging to the Palace, in what is suspected to be for the purpose of excavating antiquities.
Allegedly, the digging was carried out without authorisation by a contracting company hired to restore and upgrade the site. It was conducted with no oversight from responsible authorities and in conditions that raised concerns about negligence and possible misconduct.
The ministry referred several officials to the Public Prosecution for investigation, including include the former and current heads of the South Upper Egypt Cultural Region, the director of the
Luxor branch, engineers and technicians, the directors of both Luxor Culture Palace and the Child Culture Palace, and the site’s security officer.
The ministry, will not tolerate negligence, adding that it would increase on-site monitoring to ensure discipline and integrity across cultural projects, the statement said.
