Egypt asserts ownership of its past

Marketplace (Amy Scott)
(Slideshow - 2 images)

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Thousands of ancient treasures have left Egypt over the centuries. Many were carted away by archeologists with official blessings. Others were smuggled out and sold on the black market.

To stem the trade, Zahi Hawass has proposed stiffer penalties for smugglers. He's also floated the idea of copyrighting Egyptian artifacts. The royalties would help pay for more than a dozen new museums under construction in Egypt.

HAWASS: I'm making big changes here, and I need money. And this money that I make of the replica, it's not for Egypt to be rich, no. It's to use in restoring these monuments that I believe . . . it does not belong to Egypt only, but belongs to everyone all over the world.

That's just the point, says James Cuno, who directs the Art Institute of Chicago. He's written a book: "Who Owns Antiquity?" Aside from sheer geography, Cuno says modern Egypt's link to the Pharaonic civilization is tenuous.

JAMES CUNO: You know, it's not in the religious practice, it's not in the language, it's not in the artistic practice, it's not in any political relationships.

And he says claiming otherwise is dangerous.

CUNO: Culture is something that always is a very fluid and mongrel thing that is made by people and not by nations. And to put political borders around culture is to falsify the history of culture as we know it.

Yet the past is one of Egypt's biggest money makers. Tourists who flocked to the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings brought in some $8 billion last season.

Hani El-Masri is an Egyptian artist. He'd like to see the Rosetta Stone stay right where it is.