The University of Warsaw Press has published a book titled „Od Faras do... O wykopaliskach i nie tylko – rozmowy z archeologami (i jednym architektem)” („From Faras to... On Excavations and Beyond – Conversations with Archaeologists (and One Architect)”). These conversations begin with the story of Faras – an ancient city discovered by Poles in Sudan. Artifacts from Faras can now be seen at the National Museum in Warsaw.
Research on the antiquities of the Middle East and Africa, conducted in Poland is still ongoing. We talk about this with Professor Tomasz Derda from the University of Warsaw.
Tomasz Derda: We are continuing our excavations in Egypt. First of all, we are trying to return to Syria, which is a very important country on the map of archaeological activities. However, this is difficult due to political and historical issues. We are also working in Libya, which is another very important location. We were very active in Sudan and Nubia, where many sites were excavated in the past. Unfortunately, the work was stopped two years ago because of the civil war in Sudan. I hope we will be able to return to Sudan in the future.
The Middle East and North Africa are parts of the larger Mediterranean region. Tomasz Derda explains.
Tomasz Derda: Of course, we are also active in European countries, especially on the Balkan Peninsula, including Bulgaria and Montenegro. There are some plans to carry out excavations in Serbia as well. We are also present in Greece. So, more or less, this is a catalog of all the countries around the Mediterranean, the eastern Mediterranean part of Europe, and not only Europe but also the Middle East. The Middle East is currently a difficult region in terms of the European concept of geography and politics.
Prof. Tomasz Derda.
Tomasz Derda speaks with great respect about Kazimierz Michałowski – a Polish archaeologist, Egyptologist, founder of the Polish school of Mediterranean archaeology. Professor Derda reminds us how Michałowski began his excavations.
Tomasz Derda: Michałowski started practicing Mediterranean archaeology in 1956, after the political changes in Poland. Initially, he began his work in the southern part of the Soviet Union, on the Crimean Peninsula. Then, in 1958, he was allowed to go to Egypt and start excavations there for the first time. Afterward, he established a Polish scientific institution in Cairo — the Center for Mediterranean Archaeology — which included a library in Cairo. He also took on some new sites, including some of the most important ones you can imagine in Egypt. For example, excavations in the city of Alexandria. I remember Michałowski used to say: "We both have limited resources." Everyone knows what $100 meant in the 1960s or 1970s, so our resources were very limited. According to Michałowski's reasoning, we had to spend them on the most important sites possible. We had to excavate capital cities. To some extent, he followed this idea. Alexandria was a capital city during the Ptolemaic period.
Tomasz Derda talked about where he will be working this year. It will be in Egypt, which he has been studying since 1988.
Tomasz Derda: After all, Egypt has been a stable country for many years. It was stable under Mubarak, then there was a short period of the Arab Spring revolution in 2011, followed by some years of disturbances. However, the country remains stable, even if it is not a democracy. Of course, this is not the same, but I have no problems with security issues in Egypt. First of all, the people living there are very friendly towards us. We do encounter some problems with Egyptians, but these are mostly technical issues, especially related to the administration. For example, I have no hesitation in bringing students to Egypt despite these challenges.
So we will be waiting for Tomasz Derda to return from Egypt to Warsaw, so we can meet him again and learn about the discoveries made by Polish archaeologists.
By Viktar Korbut