Meet the representatives of French archaeological missions in Egypt

CAIRO – 5 May 2018: The French institute for Oriental Archaeology in Egypt (IFAO) in partnership with the French Institute in Egypt (IFE) hosts the Day of French Archaeological Missions in Egypt on May 9.

The event starts at 10 a.m., and will give journalists for two hours the opportunity to meet with the missions’ heads and representatives and to know more about the institute’s activities.



At 6 p.m. attendees can join the open discussion at the French Institute in Egypt for the representatives of the French archaeological missions in Egypt which will feature Marie-Dominique Nenna, director of the Center for Alexandrine Studies, Christophe Thiers, director of the Franco-Egyptian Center for the Study of Karnak Temples, and Bérangère Redon, former scientific member of IFAO.

Laurent Bava, the IFAO director hosts a seminar at 7 p.m. to address the institute’s plans for 2018.

France is one of Egypt’s key partners in the archaeological field. More than 30 French archaeological missions that include 400 archaeologists and researchers work in excavation and restoration fields in Egypt, from the coastal city of Alexandria, to Upper Egypt and until the Red Sea coast, according to the IFAO’s press statement.


The French institute for Oriental Archaeology in Egypt – CC official website

The French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Egypt which was established in 1880 is one of the major French research centers abroad and falls under the aegis of the French Ministry of Education (National, Higher and Research).

The IFAO’s mission is to study the successive civilizations of Egypt from prehistory until the modern era. The disciplines involved are archaeology, history, and language studies. The excavation sites of the IFAO cover all eras (prehistory, Pharaonic Egypt, antiquity, and the Islamic period) and they are situated throughout Egypt (Nile Calley, Delta, oases, Eastern and Western Desert, Sinai and the Red Sea).

French and Egyptian researchers are traditionally divided into two sections. The first is devoted to the study of ancient Egyptology and Papyrus, and the other is dedicated to Coptic, Arabic and Islamic studies.


The French Institute in Egypt – CC official website

The French Institute in Egypt is an entity that follows the French Embassy in Egypt. It executes the policies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France; it offers cooperation in the fields of science, archaeology, education and technology.