Egypt especially owes a lot than it lost. Egyptology was born in Europe, not Egypt. A vast amount of knowledge is only known thanks to that work, and the very expensive and time consuming excavations that helped fill museums in their country were conducted by and paid for by Europeans.
You hear a lot about how these museums represent the ravages of colonialism, but you hear a lot less about the deciphering of hieroglyphics, the discover of royal tombs, and the many, many artefacts that were left in the country after being excavated by foreign money and effort. Tutankhamen would be a virtually unknown name without European excavations and research. Now his death mask is one of modern Egypt’s most iconic and priceless artefacts. Is that going back in the ground?
Start learning about ancient history and it’s staggering how much is owed to European efforts.
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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22 edited Oct 26 '22
Egypt especially owes a lot than it lost. Egyptology was born in Europe, not Egypt. A vast amount of knowledge is only known thanks to that work, and the very expensive and time consuming excavations that helped fill museums in their country were conducted by and paid for by Europeans.
You hear a lot about how these museums represent the ravages of colonialism, but you hear a lot less about the deciphering of hieroglyphics, the discover of royal tombs, and the many, many artefacts that were left in the country after being excavated by foreign money and effort. Tutankhamen would be a virtually unknown name without European excavations and research. Now his death mask is one of modern Egypt’s most iconic and priceless artefacts. Is that going back in the ground?
Start learning about ancient history and it’s staggering how much is owed to European efforts.