Page 99 - Tourism Legislation

Over the centuries, Egypt has suffered grievously from illegal

antiquities trade and illicit excavation. In April 2002, one of the

largest hauls of illicit antiquities ever found was impounded at

Heathrow Airport, London. Egypt recovered 56,000 out of a total

of 113,000 objects held at Heathrow. In order to combat the trade

in illicit antiquities, aid the recovery of stolen artefacts and

increase the protection of archaeological sites, Egypt had, in

1983, enacted a law on the Protection of Antiquities. Law (117),

as it is often called, created and declared state ownership of all

antiquities. The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) is the

branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture responsible for

enforcing Law 117.

Egyptian officials exerted tremendous effort into recovering

smuggled antiquities from abroad, as well as UNESCOs‟ efforts

through the inclusion of artifacts looted from Egypt on the Red

Tourism Legislations Page 98