2011年3月6日エジプト遺産の現状（ザヒ・ハワス博士ブログより全訳）

The status of Egyptian antiquities today, 6 March 2011

2011年3月6日エジプト遺産の現状

On Friday night, a group of 35 criminals attacked the storage magazines at Tell el-Fara’in (Buto) an ancient and important former capital of Lower Egypt, the Delta. Here the remains of the ancient city walls, a temple of Ramesses II, many great statues of that king and others of gods, such as Sekhmet and Horus, have been found. Both foreign (notably, German and British teams) and Egyptian missions have worked there, excavating the stores and settlement of a New Kingdom town as well as discovering Predynastic remains, making it one of the most important archaeological sites in the Delta. The magazines that were looted contained all of the artifacts of that area, such as finds from el-Monufia, el-Gharbia, Kafr el-Sheikh and El-Beheira.

金曜日の夜、35人の盗賊が下エジプト（デルタ地帯）の重要な元首都テル・エル・ファライン（ブト）の遺物保管庫を襲った。ここではは古代の市壁、ラムセス2世神殿、王やセクメト、ホルスなどの神々の像が見つかっている。この遺跡は、エジプト隊と外国隊（特にドイツ隊と英国隊）が新王国時代の街の発掘をしており、前王国時代の遺跡も見つかるなど、デルタ地帯で最も重要な拠点になっている。襲われた遺物保管庫はこのエリアから出土した遺物すべてを収めてあった。例えば、エル・モヌフィア、エル・ガルビア、カフール・エル・シェイク、エル・ベハイラから出土した遺物である。

As they do almost every night at many sites across the country, the looters arrived carrying automatic weapons, overpowered the guards and broke in. I have built 40 storage magazines all over Egypt, that are well guarded with computerized systems, and which are equipped with photographic departments and conservation rooms as well. Unfortunately, however, these thieves got in, opened five boxes of objects, throwing some of them to the ground and breaking three of the doors inside the store. They took the smaller handguns of the guards, but thankfully neighboring people came to get them and successfully captured four, who are now being detained. Today I have asked for a team from the Ministry of Antiquities to inspect the site and report back to me on what has been taken.

泥棒たちはほぼ毎晩、我が国全土で盗難を行っている。泥棒たちはオートマチック（連写可能な銃）で武装しており、遺跡のガードを威嚇して押し入っている。私はこれまでに40の遺物保管庫をエジプト全土に設置してきた。遺物保管庫にはガードを置き、コンピュータで管理し、写真部門と保存科学部門を併設している。残念なことに、押し入った泥棒たちは箱5個を開け、中身を床にぶちまけ、ドア3ヶ所を破壊した。泥棒たちはガードの拳銃を奪ったが、近隣の市民によって4人が取り押さえられ、拘束された。私は今日考古省のチームに各遺跡の盗難状況をレポートするように命じた。

Almost every day at the moment, there are attacks on archaeological heritage sites all over Egypt. Some of these areas have not been excavated yet, but all of them contain the remains of our ancient culture and heritage. Anyone who farms, builds or digs on these pieces of land is destroying our history. The el-Zoulien archaeological site, near San el-Hagar (Tanis), in the Sharkia Governorate, has been damaged. Villagers there have farmed the land and built houses on top of it. At Abu el-Hummus and Borg el-Arab walls and buildings have also been built. Many sites in Upper Egypt have been affected as well and my daily report states that a group attacked the Kléber Tower in Gamalia last night, which is next to the eastern wall of Cairo, a place known for smoking drugs, and that they are still inside it.

ほぼ毎日、エジプト全土で遺跡が攻撃されている。すべての遺跡が発掘されているわけではないが、すべての遺跡に古代の文明が眠っていることは確かだ。この文明生誕の地で、畑を作り、家を建て、掘りかえす者は、我々の歴史の破壊者である。シャキア州のサン・エル・ハガル（タニス）近くのエル・ゾウリエン遺跡がダメージを受けた。村人が侵入して、畑を作り家を建てたのだ。アブ・エル・ハマスとボルグ・エル・アラブでは壁と家が建てられた．上エジプトの多くの遺跡も同じような状況だ．今日のレポートによれば，昨夜，ガマリアにあるクレバー・タワーがグループによって襲われた．カイロの東壁に接しているところで，麻薬患者の巣窟として知られている場所だ．レポートによればグループはまだそこにいるという．

I have asked for the objects in storage in Qantara East, in the Sinai, to be moved. On January 29 we know that these things were stolen, but 292 of them have since been returned. This magazine is out in the desert and vulnerable to attach again, so Mohamed Abd el-Maksoud will move things from it to the basement stores under the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. These objects are important because they are intended to be used in the scenario for the new museum at Taba, the Port Said Museum that is being developed and for Sharm el-Sheikh Museum. Sharm el-Sheikh Museum is incredible and when it is completely finished, it could be one of the largest in Egypt after the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. It even has a conference room big enough to hold 3000 people and the objects that were repatriated to the country by Israel after the peace treaty. I believe that the transfer of these artifacts is the best thing we can do to protect them and I have asked the military to guard their transfer to Cairo.

シナイのカンタラ東の保管庫の遺物について，私は他の場所へ移すように依頼し続けていた．1月29日には略奪があったことがわかったが，それでも292個の遺物が戻ってきている．この保管庫は砂漠上に立てられており，使い続けるには危険である．そこでモハメド・アブドゥ・エル・マクソードがそれらの遺物をカイロ博物館の地下倉庫へ動かす予定である．これらの遺物は，タバの新博物館，建設中のポルト・サイード博物館，およびシャルム・エル・シェイク博物館で展示しようと思っていた重要なものである．シャルム・エル・シェイク博物館は既に素晴らしい出来だが，完成すればギザの大エジプト博物館に次ぐ大博物館になる．この博物館は3,000人収容の大会議室を備え，和平条約後イスラエルから我が国に返還された遺物さえも展示する．私は遺物の輸送が，いま我々の出来る最も有効な保護方法であると確信しており，軍にも輸送中の警護を依頼している．

I would like to tell people that I am still in my office and will be until the government has announced my successor. I have not been as happy as I have been for the last two days for a very long time. Of course, I am very, very sad to be losing my love, my work in archaeology, but this website will still be my voice against those who threaten the preservation of Egyptian antiquities. This site will stay open and be updated daily.

私はまだ私のオフィスにいるし，政府が私の後継者を発表するまでは居続けるつもりだ．私はこの二日間，これまでの長い日々に比べて幸せだったとは言えない．もちろん，私は考古学への情熱と考古学での仕事を失うことを大変に，大変に，悲しく思う．しかし，私はエジプトの遺跡を脅す脅威に対してこのウェブページで声をあげていくし，毎日アップデートしていくつもりだ．

Those followers of Seth in the Ministry of Antiquities who have tried to spread rumors against me, are corrupt. One copied the dissertation of a fellow scholar and caused a mummy from an excavation to be stolen, and the file of another shows they were corrupt, fired many times from office and also stole things. Sadly, during the revolution, many people have found the opportunity to spread rumors for their own benefit, even against me. People are horribly abusing the hard work of the youths who fought for democracy to attack me! One of these people is even a university professor who worked in my position for nearly six years before me, but achieved nothing during his tenure and is now causing problems.

私に関する悪い噂を流している考古省のセトの信望者たちは腐っている．ひとりは著名な学者の論述を剽窃し，発掘したミイラが盗難される機会を作り，また他のファイルによるとやつらはゴミで，盗みを働き，何度も職を首になっている．悲しいことだが，エジプト革命の間，多くの者が自己保身のために噂を流した．中には私を非難する噂もだ．中には，民主化のために戦う若者を扇動し，私を攻撃させたものさえいる！その中には，6年間私の前任を務めた大学教授さえ含まれている．もっとも彼は任期中何もしなかったし，今では問題の種になっている．

However, these are really minor things in my life and if you are an influential person, then lots of people will attack you. If I had spent my career worrying about criticism all of my life, I would never have achieved what I am proud to say that I have achieved. I try to make informed decisions and resolve my problems, and this is the first time ever that I have not been able to do anything about something I feel strongly about. I have not been able to do enough in recent days about the robbery of our heritage and this is why I have decided to resign as the Minister of State for Antiquities.

しかし，これらのことは私の人生においてはほんの小さなことだ．もしあなたが影響力のある人間なら，多くの人があなたを攻撃するだろう．私が自分への批判を気にしながら生きてきたならば，私が私自身誇りに思っている仕事を成し遂げることはなかっただろう．私がこのように無力感を感じるのは，私の人生でこれが初めてのことだ．ここ数日の遺跡に対する略奪に対して，私が十分な対応が出来ないことが，私が考古省大臣を辞任する理由なのだ．