Return to Alexandria: An Ethnography of Cultural Heritage Revivalism and Museum Memory

300 Pages·2007·1.85 MB·English

by  Beverley Butler

RETURN TO ALEXANDRIA
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INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
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ENCOUNTERS WITH ANCIENT EGYPT Subseries, Peter J. Ucko, (ed.)
Jean-Marcel Humbert and Clifford Price (eds.), Imhotep Today
David Jeffreys (ed.), Views of Ancient Egypt since Napoleon Bonaparte
Sally MacDonald and Michael Rice (eds.), Consuming Ancient Egypt
Roger Matthews and Cornelia Roemer (eds.), Ancient Perspectives on Egypt
David O’Connor and Andrew Reid (eds.), Ancient Egypt in Africa
John Tait (ed.), ‘Never had the like occurred’
David O’Connor and Stephen Quirke (eds.), Mysterious Lands
Peter Ucko and Timothy Champion (eds.), The Wisdom of Egypt
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURAL HERITAGE Subseries, Beverley Butler (ed.)
Beverley Butler, Return to Alexandria
Ferdinand de Jong and Michael Rowlands (eds.), Reclaiming Heritage
Dean Sully (ed.), Decolonizing Conservation
OTHER TITLES
Andrew Gardner (ed.), Agency Uncovered
Okasha El-Daly, Egyptology, The Missing Millennium
Ruth Mace, Clare J. Holden, and Stephen Shennan (eds.), Evolution of Cultural Diversity
Arkadiusz Marciniak, Placing Animals in the Neolithic
Robert Layton, Stephen Shennan, and Peter Stone (eds.), A Future for Archaeology
Joost Fontein, The Silence of Great Zimbabwe
Gabriele Puschnigg, Ceramics of the Merv Oasis
James Graham-Campbell and Gareth Williams (eds.), Silver Economy in the Viking Age
Barbara Bender, Sue Hamilton, and Chris Tilley, Stone World
Andrew Gardner, An Archaeology of Identity
Sue Hamilton, Ruth Whitehouse, and Katherine I. Wright (eds.), Archaeology and Women
Gustavo Politis, Nukak
Sue Colledge and James Conolly (eds.), The Origins and Spread of Domestic Plants in Southwest
Asia and Europe
Timothy Clack and Marcus Brittain (eds.), Archaeology and the Media
Janet Picton, Stephen Quirke, and Paul C. Roberts (eds.), Living Images
Tony Waldron, Paleoepidemiology
Eleni Asouti and Dorian Q. Fuller, Trees and Woodlands of South India
Russell McDougall and Iain Davidson (eds.), The Roth Family, Anthropology, and Colonial
Administration
Elizabeth Pye (ed.), The Power of Touch
John Tait, Why the Egyptians Wrote Books
RETURN TO ALEXANDRIA
An Ethnography of Cultural Heritage,
Revivalism, and Museum Memory
Beverley Butler
Walnut Creek, California
LEFT COAST PRESS, INC.
1630 North Main Street, #400
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
http://www.LCoastPress.com
Copyright © 2007 by Left Coast Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publisher.
ISBN 978-1-59874-190-2 hardcover
ISBN 978-1-59874-191-9 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Butler, Beverley.
Return to Alexandria : an ethnography of cultural heritage, revivalism, and museum
memory / Beverley Butler.
p. cm. — (Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College,
London) (Critical perspectives on cultural heritage)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59874-190-2 (alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59874-191-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Aliksandrina (Library)—History. 2. Alexandria (Egypt)—Antiquities. 3. Revival
movements (Art)—Egypt—Alexandria. 4. Library architecture—Egypt—Alexandria.
5. Egypt—Cultural policy. 6. Cultural property—Protection—Case studies.
7. Museum techniques—Case studies. 8. East and West—Case studies. 9. North and
south—Case studies. 10. Postcolonialism—Case studies. I. Title.
Z722.5.B88 2007 069.0932—dc22 2007027643
Printed in the United States of America
∞™ The paper used in this publication meets the
minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information
Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992.
07 08 09 10 11 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Illustrations 7
Series Editor’s Preface 11
Acknowledgments 13
Introduction
Preludes – Founding Myth and Archive 15
Chapter 1
The ‘Alexandria Project’ in the Western Imagination 31
Chapter 2
‘On The Ruins’: Postcolonial Heritage Metamorphosis 63
Chapter 3
Contemporary Return to Alexandria: International Sacred Dramas 93
Chapter 4
‘Revivalism between Worlds’: UNESCO and GOAL 123
Chapter 5
‘Meltdown’: Revivalism’s ‘Time of Anxiety’ 157
Chapter 6
‘Spirit of Aspiration’: Archaeological Revivalism and Recuperation 189
Chapter 7
Urban Shock Therapy: Alexandria’s ‘Las Vegasisation’ 213
Conclusion
‘Windows onto Contemporary Worlds’ 241
Bibliography 279
Index 293
About the Author 299
6 Return to Alexandria
List of Illustrations
1. ‘Fourth Pyramid’: Ariel view of Bibliotheca Alexandrina 19
2. ‘Wonder of the Modern World’: Night view of Bibliotheca
Alexandrina showing the ‘striped blue and black sphere’
housing a planetarium 20
3. Reemergent Heritage in Alexandria’s Eastern Harbour:
Object lifted by archaeologists at the Qait Bey/Pharos site.
The object is one of a number of 60-ton blocks surrounding
the ancient lighthouse’s entrance. In the background is
Qait Bey Fort, built in 1477 on the site of the ancient
lighthouse. 22
4. Past in the Present, Royal Palace site, Alexandria’s Eastern
Harbour: A diver is locating the exact position of a Sphinx,
supposed to represent Cleopatra’s father, Ptolemy XII, with a
differential underwater GPS. 22
5. Revivalism As ‘Heritigification’: Line drawing of Alexandria’s
Eastern Harbour showing the proximity of the Bibliotheca
Alexandrina to the archaeological missions 23
6. Plato’s Obelisk, Old Heliopolis, Ain Shams and Al-Matariyah
Districts, Cairo 68
7. Mary’s Tree, Old Heliopolis, Ain Shams and Al-Matariyah
Districts, Cairo 69
8. Contemporary Return: Overall view of the Eastern Harbour and
downtown Alexandria. In the foreground is Fort Qait Bey. The
corniche curves along the Royal Palace’s site
and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina site. 94
9. Sacred Dramas, Members of International Committee,
Aswan Meeting 1990: The Snohetta-designed model of the
Bibliotheca Alexandria takes centre-stage. 102
10. Ritual Chorus, Members of International Committee, Aswan
Meeting 1990: Again, the Snohetta-designed model of the
Bibliotheca Alexandria is centre-stage. 102
11. Signing Their Support: Aswan Declaration, showing Signatures
of International Committee, Aswan Meeting 1990 106
12. Object of Aspiration: Snohetta-designed model of Bibliotheca
Alexandrina 107
13. Future Shock: Snohetta-designed model like that displayed in
GOAL offices under perspex. 126
14. ‘Layers of Time’: Close-up of Snohetta-designed model showing
exterior wall with ‘universal’ scripts 128
15. Materialisation on the Ruins: Early construction phase, preparing
the foundations at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina site 133
16. Emergence of Technological Object: Later construction
phase – Mohammed el Qot directing work on exterior roof
of Bibliotheca Alexandrina 134
17. GOAL Logo: Merges the ‘old’ motif-icon of the ancient
lighthouse with the ‘new’ Alexandrina’s futuristic architecture 136
18. Universal Visions: UNESCO Paris headquarters with view
of Eiffel Tower 142
19. Picture Perfect: Snohetta-designed Model of Bibliotheca
Alexandrina on black background as seen in GOAL Alexandria
and UNESCO Paris offices 143
20. Vantage Point on Revivalism: The Greco-Roman Museum,
downtown Alexandria 159
21. Object of Speculation: Building work taking place on Bibliotheca
site with adjacent maternity and children’s hospital 178
22. At a depth of only 7 meters, a diver from archeologist Jean-Yves
Empereur’s team comes face to face with a 2-ton sphinx whose
cartouche was erased at the time of Pharaoh Ramses II
(1300–1235 BCE). 192
23. The statue of an Isis priest holding an Osiris-jar found on the
sunken Island of Antirhodos in the great harbour of Alexandria.
The statue from black granite is 1.22 meters high. 193
24. Return of the Gods: The colossal statue of King Ptolemy takes
part in a procession at the Eastern Port of Alexandria before
being placed in a desalination tank for six months. 210
25. Civic Heritage: Governorate headquarters, downtown
Alexandria 216
26. ‘Las Vegasisation’: A ‘Greek’ vase sculpture sponsored by local
Alexandrian businesses 221
27. ‘Greek Gift’, statue of Alexander the Great,
downtown Alexandria 230
28. ‘Vox Pop Backdrop’: New mosaic featuring Alexander the
Great, downtown Alexandria 234
29. ‘World of Mixture’: Posters of the Spice Girls and Mecca
for sale, downtown Alexandria 235
30. Migrant Heritage: Mr Nubia Nubia and family, originally
from Nubia, in their shop, which sells souvenirs, notably
amulets, from Nubia. The shop is situated near the
Bibliotheca Alexandrina. 236
31. Mr Nubia Nubia’s shop also displays photographs of
Presidents Nasser and Sadat. 237
32. Journey’s End: Rainbow arches over the Bibliotheca Alexandrina 242
33. Statue of Demetrius of Phaleron: Front entrance Bibliotheca
Alexandrina 244
34. ‘Fire-works’: Inauguration celebrations 248
35. ‘Meeting ground’: Plaza of Civilisation 249
36. Entente with Images: Awad Collection, housed within
Bibliotheca Alexandrina 250
37. Entente with Artefacts: The colossal statue of King Ptolemy,
measuring over 13 meters high and weighing over 20 tons,
discovered by archaeologists at the Qait Bey site, is repositioned
at the entrance of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. 251
38. Antiquities Museum: Within Bibliotheca Alexandrina
museum complex 269