Akademik

   The organization in charge of excavation and preservation of all archaeological sites in Egypt and all museums, including the Cairo Egyptian Museum. It was founded by Auguste Mariette in 1858 as the Egyptian Antiquities Service (Service des Antiquites). It was traditionally run by the French with a few foreign (British and German) curators and inspectors. During the 20th century, the number of locally trained Egyptians gradually increased, and the organization was completely Egyptianized after the revolution of 1952. It is the body that grants foreign expeditions the right to excavate designated sites in Egypt. Formerly foreign excavators were allowed to remove a certain amount of duplicate objects for museums outside Egypt, but this practice has now been suspended, and all finds are kept in Egypt.