Introduction from cairo to vienna and beyond: Contemporary perspectives on the dialogue about protecting cultural artefacts from plunder

Abstract

Cultural heritage officials from 20 nations gathered earlier this year in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss how to recover ancient treasures which had been stolen in the past and placed on display in foreign museums and galleries (BBC 2010a). The meeting, convened by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SAC) and chaired by its head, Zahi Hawass, included representatives from Greece, Italy, China and Peru-all countries which over centuries have lost countless antiquities to plunderers. Hawass urged delegates from all countries to work together to recover their lost treasures. Every country is fighting alone, every country suffered alone, especially Egypt he said. We will battle together (BBC 2010b). © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.