Egypt: MOU under consideration

Dr Zahi Hawass reports that one option to restrain the movement of recently surfaced Egyptian antiquities onto the market could be a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US ("The International Coalition to Support Protection of Egyptian Antiquities").  One of the projects under immediate consideration is the monitoring of Egyptian archaeological sites by satellite technology.

Such a development is likely to unsettle those selling Egyptian antiquities. These objects form a significant section of the New York auction market and few have collecting histories that can be traced back to the period before the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Clearly there is a need for those involved with the market to  demonstrate the past history of these items especially as it is now clear that collecting histories can be fabricated by some sectors of the commercial community.