Monica Hanna

Monica Hanna is an Egyptian Egyptologist and campaigner, dean at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport.[1] She campaigns against looting and theft of historical Egyptian artefacts, and has called for the return of Egyptian objects held in museums abroad.

Career

Hanna studied Egyptology and Archaeological Chemistry at the American University in Cairo.[2][3] She joined the University of Pisa, Italy to complete a PhD in archaeology on "Problems of Preservation of Mural Paintings in the Theban Necropolis: A Pilot Study on the Theban Tomb 14 using 3D Scanning Techniques".[4]

In 2013, Hanna filmed footage of the Mallawi Museum after it had been vandalised and looted, during the 2012–2013 Egyptian protests, including mummies being set on fire. She rescued some of the artefacts, and told news reporters that the increasing tendency for Egyptians to go looting was "out of control".[5] The following year, Hanna co-founded the Egyptian Heritage Task Force, a grassroots organisation that tracks the theft and looting of items across Egypt, and built up a presence on social media such as Twitter to help manage this.[6]

In 2020, she opposed the movement of sphinxes from the Temple of Karnak, Luxor to Tahrir Square, Cairo, saying it would cause potential damage and disrupt the "historical integrity of Karnak temple".[7] She is a strong advocate of returning Egyptian artefacts held overseas back to the country.[8] In 2022, she opposed the presence of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, saying it rightfully belongs to Egypt and its presence there " is a symbol of Western cultural violence".[1] A petition started by her attracted signatures from around 2,500 archaeologists.[9] The following year, she helped two men take extensive 3D pictures of the stone, so it could be re-created as a non-fungible token.[10] She has called for the return of the bust of Queen Nefertiti held at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.[11]

Awards

In 2014, Hanna was awarded the Saving Antiquities for Everyone (SAFE), in recognition of her work in identifying Egyptian artifacts looted or removed from their historical locations.[6][12]

Selected works

  • Hanna, Monica, 2015. "Documenting Looting Activities in Post-2011 Egypt." Countering Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods: The Global Challenge of Protecting the World’s Heritage. Paris: ICOM, pp. 47–63.
  • Monica Hanna, “What Has Happened to Egyptian Heritage after the 2011 Unfinished Revolution?,” Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 1, no. 4 (2013): 371–75
  • Katherine Blouin, Monica Hanna and Sarah E. Bond, How Academics, Egyptologists, and Even Melania Trump Benefit From Colonialist Cosplay, Hyperallergic, 22 October 2020
  • Monica Hanna (2023), "Contesting the Lonely Queen" International Journal of Cultural Property no. 1

References

  1. ^ a b "Egyptians call on British Museum to return the Rosetta stone". PBS. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Alumna Monica Hanna Internationally Awarded for Saving Antiquities". The American University in Cairo. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Egyptian archaeologists rely on technology to preserve past". Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Monica Hanna | Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport - Academia.edu". aastmt.academia.edu. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Mummies set on fire as looters raid Egyptian museum". Channel 4 News. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b Durham, Kate (15 December 2013). "Saving Heritage". EgyptToday. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Egyptologists attack transfer of sphinxes to Tahrir Square". the Guardian. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  8. ^ Mashberg, Tom (9 April 2014). "Taking on Art Looters on Twitter". New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Rosetta Stone: No priority for restitution". Returning Heritage. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  10. ^ "A High-Tech Heist at the British Museum". New Yorker. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  11. ^ Tahir, Tariq (11 January 2024). "Queen Nefertiti bust 'should be treated as Nazi loot and returned to Egypt'". The National. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  12. ^ Hilaire, Rick St (14 April 2014). "True Grit: Monica Hanna Defends Heritage in Egypt, Receives SAFE's Prize". Cultural Heritage Lawyer. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
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