Preservation, development and promotion of the archaeological site of Saqqara

Few sites in Egypt have benefited from an integrated approach aiming to implement a management, development and promotion plan, and few teams at the central and/or local level have benefited from training and the transfer of know-how allowing this approach to be applied. The Supreme Council of Antiquities identified, in cooperation with AFD, a pilot and priority site: the Saqqara site, with the aim of meeting the management and long-term development needs of sites, as well as the Council’s capacity building needs.

The project aims to enhance the attractiveness of the Saqqara archaeological site in order to allow it to generate regular tourist income over the long term, which can benefit the site’s urban and human environment more. The project’s specific objectives are to:

• Give the Saqqara site a status as a reference site which is attractive for foreign and local visitors, and more particularly for individual tourism.
• Develop skills among the teams at the Ministry of Antiquities in site development and management and, in “partner” institutions (Giza Governorate, General Organization of Physical Planning…), increase awareness of issues relating to the protection of areas around sites (particularly the buffer zone).
• Strengthen the role of archaeological teams on the site by supporting them with high-quality facilities which add value to both their work and the work of the teams of the Ministry of Antiquities.

The project comprises two phases. The first phase involves training young inspectors from the Ministry of Antiquities and the preparation of a management plan for the Saqqara site by a private technical design office, selected through an open bid invitation. The second phase involves implementing priority actions recommended by the action plan which can be financed in the short term (creation of signs, waste protection and management measures, development of the site entrance and refurbishment of the ticket office…).

Development of the archaeological monuments in Saqqara by installing about twenty signs in different areas on the site:

• Improvement in tourist reception by developing the site entrance and refurbishing the ticket office.
• Improvement in the management of the site through more effective waste treatment and the construction of security posts.
• Human capacity building by training inspectors from the Ministry of Antiquities on the topic of site development and management.
• Promotion of Franco-Egyptian archaeological cooperation by publishing a new edition of the book by the archaeologist Jean-Philippe Lauer about the Pyramids of Saqqara.