Abstract

Egyptian historical heritage, along with generations of Egyptian cultural memory, represent the true cultural assets of Egypt. This rich inheritance is distributed among monuments, sites and artefacts across an extended and broad historical timeline, but it is also vulnerable to a large number of threats. The urban and architectural heritage of the UNESCO-listed world heritage site of historic Cairo has in recent decades become increasingly exposed to more risks than ever before. This has been exacerbated by accelerated degradation in the years following the 25th of January revolution in 2011. Egyptian museums too have been affected by this situation. At the current moment, the clear need to protect and preserve cultural heritage against those risks is motive enough to create a specialized Egyptian team that can stand as a line of defence between heritage and the risks it faces. Moreover such a team would be capable of moving to rescue Egypt's heritage in the case of emergencies.