FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Howard Wellman, +20.3.546.6872

January 22, 1998 Alexandria, Egypt

The new Ambassador of the United States to Egypt, Dr. Daniel Kurtzer, recently inspected the Alexandria Conservation Laboratory for Submerged Antiquities, located at the National Maritime Museum.

The laboratory is operated by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology-Egypt (INA-Egypt) in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). Dr. Fatah, Director of the Alexandria Greco-Roman Museum, Mr. Ahmed Beduwi, Director of the National Maritime Museum, Mme. Amira Abu Bakr, Head of Conservation (Alexandria), and Mr. Howard Wellman, Director of Conservation for INA-Egypt greeted Ambassador Kurtzer and his wife.

Ambassador Kurtzer and SCA officials toured the Laboratory which opened in 1996 for the conservation and investigation of waterlogged archaeological artifacts. The Laboratory, with major funding from the USAID-funded Egyptian Antiquities Project, has facilities for examining and treating most types of archaeological material, including X-radiographic and photographic capability, and a customized water-purification plant.

American and Egyptian conservators at the laboratory displayed some of the more than 3,000 artifacts excavated from the Sadana Island Shipwreck, a mid-18th century vessel carrying Chinese export porcelain, Islamic copper and earthenwares, spices, aromatic resins and coconuts from the Indian Ocean, and coffee. INA-Egypt and SCA archaeologists have worked together in the Red Sea since 1995 to discover the secrets of this immense ship which, though more than 165 feet long, was built in an undocumented tradition.

Ambassador Kurtzer expressed a lively interest in the work presented at the Laboratory, and praised the cooperative efforts of the SCA/INA-Egypt partnership.

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology - Egypt is part of the world's largest and most well known research organization dedicated to the exploration of maritime heritage. Based at Texas A&M University, INA was founded 25 years ago by Dr. George F. Bass. Its recent excavations include the rich Uluburun Shipwreck from the time of Tut-ankh-amon off Turkey's southern shore, ships from the War of 1812 in Lake Champlain, and a submarine from Texas' Confederate Navy.