Vanishing Evidence Part VI: Preserving the Evidence

THE VANISHING EVIDENCE OF CLASSICAL AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

Part IV: Preserving the Evidence
Prof. Manu Ampim

Published: The Gaither Reporter (Houston), Vol. 3, Issue 7, (August 31, 1996): 62.

Over the past seven years, I have conducted primary (first-hand) research at nearly all of the major museums, institutes, and libraries in the Western World which house Kemetian (ancient Egyptian) and Nubian artifacts.

In November/December 1994, I returned to Kemet (Egypt) and Nubia to continue my primary research at numerous Nile Valley sites to document modern forgeries, study ancient African social organization and spiritual culture, and to record the vanishing evidence of classical African civilizations.

As I had expected when I returned to Kemet/Nubia in August 1995, the temple carvings that were visible in November/December 1994 had disappeared in just eight months. The disappearance of these carvings is due mainly to the fact that nearly every Kemetian temple is currently under some level of “conservation.” This so-called conservation work is being carried out by two main groups: Europeans and American research teams, and Arabs working under the auspices of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Antiquities Organization).

Bogus “Conservation” Work

In many cases, these two groups have not conserved the monuments by keeping them from further damage or lost, but rather they have permanently damaged and even deliberately destroyed wall images and inscriptions that have been in good condition for thousands of years. Thus, the erosion of the temple and tomb walls in recent years caused by the natural elements and the pressure of industrialization, tourism, urban growth, and agricultural development have been outstripped by the deliberate destructive acts by Euro – American researchers and Arab workers and citizens.

In recent decades, these ancient Kemetian monuments have been deteriorating before our eyes and yet little has been done to stop this destructive process. Unfortunately, we are witnessing the vanishing evidence of one of the world’s most profound ancient civilizations. Unless there is immediate intervention and implementation of a master conservation plan, then within a few short years there will be many other Nile Valley monuments in a state of serious crisis similar to Horemaket (the Great Sphinx), the Luxor Temple, and the tombs of Giza, Tell Amarna, and Beni Hassan.

C SDAEM & The Preservation of the Evidence

In an effort to preserve and protect the profound records that our ancestors have left in the Nile Valley, we have recently organized the Committee To Stop The Destruction of Ancient Egyptian Monuments (CSDAEM). Our committee has three broad objectives:

(1) To gather 100,000 signatures on a petition to pressure the Egyptian government to launch an immediate investigation into the criminal “conservation” work of government workers and researchers; and to pressure the government to impose a 10-year moratorium on all excavations in Egypt, and that instead of more excavations the international resources should be directed towards conservation and saving the Pharaonic monuments.

(2) To challenge so-called Africentric “study tours” to stop the excessive European-style tourist trips to Kemet, and instead either eliminate these unproductive trips or transform them into work/study tours, where they are conducting field work and documenting the remaining artifacts.

(3) To guide African people toward establishing various central archives of photographs and video tapes of the monuments and artifacts in order to preserve and independent record of the remaining evidence of classical African civilizations.

The archives in the northern California area are in Oakland, CA. They consist of duplicate photos and video footage that travelers have taken in their visits to Kemet/Nubia over the years and have given to our committee to help our cause. Through the photographic and video evidence, we can establish a chronological record which clearly demonstrates that the temple and tomb evidence has been systematically vanishing in recent decades, particularly in the 1990s.

The CSDAEM has made progress in recent months and we are calling on African and all people of goodwill to support our effort. The CSDAEM has sent our information packets to all the Africentric “study tour” leaders to Kemet, requesting their participation in our campaign to stop the destruction of the Ancient Egyptian monuments, and to assist us with our basic objectives. We will keep the Gaither Reporter readers informed about the tour leaders’ response to our campaign.

Challenge to the African American Community

Unfortunately, while African Americans are embracing Kemet and Nubia as ancient Black cultures, the evidence of these classical civilizations is vanishing at an alarming rate, and yet the Black community has shown no concern about this problem. Rather, the vast majority of Black people have been concerned with profiting form Africentric tourism to the Nile Valley, and with experiencing a temporary high when they visit the monuments of this area, even as the images and inscriptions on these monuments have been literally disappearing before their eyes.

The greatest tragedy and contradiction of all is perhaps that thousands of people within the Africentric Movement religiously focus on Kemet in their books, study tours and ubiquitous lectures, but they have yet to address the problem of the vanishing evidence. The general lack of constructive action within the Africentric Movement cannot be better highlighted than in this situation. The challenge to the African American community is to stop using Kemet as a playground and get busy with the work of preserving the sacred monument of our ancestors.

The sad fact is that it is the European — not the African — community that has focused attention on saving the monuments. Europeans have been addressing the problem of the decay of the monuments due to heavy tourism, pollution and other factors outlined above, but they have not addressed the more immediate problem of the deliberate acts of racist monument destruction. Nevertheless, they have helped create growing international awareness of the vanishing evidence problem.

Time is against the monuments, and in a few short years the carvings of many more temples and tombs will be lost forever, as the evidence continues to disappear. The impending loss to African people is immeasurable and yet the African American community has done nothing about the problem. With the vast majority of the ancient African artifacts now in the possession of Western institutions, and with the remaining field artifacts disappearing, the work of the Western propagandists in omitting and distorting the African historical experience will be much easier and more effective.

The lack of action on the part of Black “innocent bystanders” is just as repulsive as the actions of the perpetrators. Black people should understand that the movement to save the monuments and preserve the evidence of classical African culture and contributions will not be televised.