Archaeology and diplomacy, a long French
tradition
Raphelle LUCAS, France
Every year, the Steering Committee for archaeological research abroad selects
some 140 missions in about sixty countries, for the ministry of foreign affairs. These
projects receive financial support of this ministry and are carried out in cooperation
with the countries concerned.
"France is real exception as far as the archaeology functions abroad.
Indeed, since the 19 century, France has traditionally combined diplomacy and
archaeology", Bertrand Lafont is a perfect illustration of this exception as this
archaeologist at the CNRS, French National Scientific Research Center, today spends part
of his time at the ministry of foreign affairs to act as an intermediary between diplomats
and researchers. In the 19 century, the connection between these two groups was so strong
that sometimes they were one and the same person. Thus, in Iraq, Paul Emille Botta, the
consul in Mossoul, discovered Khorsabad and the winged bulls which can be admired at the
Louvre and Ernest de Sarzec, the vice consul in Bassora revealed Sumer.
Today, the involvement of diplomacy had taken the form, as Hubert Vedrine,
the minister of foreign affairs, point out, "of a consistent and patient policy of
research, training and exchanges, significant of the ambitions that France nurtures for
veritable and dynamic international cooperation, in the service of the diversity of
peoples and cultures." This is clearly visible in the restoration of the temples of
Karnak in Egypt, the protection of carved towers at Angkor in Cambodia, the clearing of
the pyramids in Mexico, the discovery of Lucy in Ethiopia, the study of the cuneiform in
Mari in Syria and the excavation of the frozen tombs in the Altai mountains in eastern
Kazakhstan.
With time, the number of missions has grown and, this year, the ministry will
finance some 140 projects in about sixty countries. Obviously, Angkor and Karnak will
still fugure among them but so will Saqqarah, Egypt, and the Indus valley, India. The
ministry of foreign affairs only gives grant for work in the field and, for this purpose,
has a budget of 16 million francs. To allocate these funds, it relies on the expertise of
the very serios Steering Committee for archaeological research abroad, a body set up in
1948 which brings together the best specialists in the regions and periods dealt with.
Divided up into sub-committees by continent, it meets annually to study the excavation
projects and to give its opinion on their appropriateness and on the funding to be
granted.
Veritable cooperation projects:
"'The first criterion", Jean-Claude Jacq, the head of the social
sciences and archaeological division at the ministry of foreign affairs, explains,
"is the quality of the project, its interest and its originality. We tray to be
closely in touch with the other teams on the spot so as to see what else we can
contribute". Hence this year of the 140 missions, only 11 will be new ones, half of
them having suggested by young researchers. The locations for these projects largely
depend on history. The Mediterranean is greatly covered and Latin America relatively
little. Moreover, for a year and a half, as a result of integration with the ministry of
co-operation, the ministry of foreign affairs has largely opened up to West Africa where 7
missions have been set up, especially in Senegal and Mali. An eminent Senegalese
archaeologist recently joined the Committee to enrich its approach.
The projects chosen rely on increasingly advanced technologies such as those
linked to the geophysical prospecting of sites, the computer recreation of landscapes and
ancient habitats, the mapping of the natural resources of bygone times, biological
characterization and the protection or restoration of remains. However, the quality of the
missions also depends on their philosophy. Thus, Bruno Delaye, the director general of
international cooperation and development, explains, "we would like to carry out this
research in a spirit of cooperation and partnership". The excavations are usually
carried out under joint management with local researchers, under the supervision of the
local department of antiquities, and the cooperation leads, in particular, to joint
publications. A network of 11 centers and permanent institutions, in Damascus, Beirut,
Jerusalem, Sanna, Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Istanbul, Tehran, Tashkent, Mexico city and Lima,
completes these missions.
The cooperation also takes the form of exchanges and training on the spot.
The idea is to facilitate the access, for the least privileged countries, to the
technologies, skills and equipment of developed countries. Finally, as the heritage today
implies a promise of sustainable development, the Minister of Foreign Affairs intends, as
Bruno Delaye points out, "to encourage the appropriation of heritage items by the
local people on the spot". Indeed, for him, it is a "guarantee of economic
development, social cohesion and spiritual enrichment".
Israel: Mini pill makes a good image
-Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, Israel
The Israeli scientists invent a capsule that travels through the body and
produces full color images, enabling painless gastro-intestinal diagnoses.
The unique M2A capsule-developed by Given Imaging Ltd. Of Yoknean-contains a
miniature video camera, flashing light, battery and computer chip. Miniature electronics
and complementary technology allow the capsule to transmit high quality video images,
allowing doctors to view a range of disorders of the small intestine.
After fasting for eight hours, the patient swallows the 2.5 centimeter-long
capsule with a glassful of water, and then buckles on a belt bearing a wireless recorder.
The recorder receives signals as the capsule, which is not affected by the highly acidic
environment of the gastrointestinal system, is propelled through the small intestine by
preistalsis-the natural contracting motions of the digestive system. The patient may
conduct his normal daily activities eating, working, playing and sleeping-until the
capsule is discharged from the body along with the stool. It is then retrieved and taken
to a special computer workstation, where the images are processed using Given Imaging's
RAPID-Reporting and Processing of Images and Data, software. The end product is a short
video clip of the small intestine together with additional relevant information from the
digestive tract.
The process enables gastroenterologists to find sources of unexplained
bleeding, abnormal growths, as well as signs of irritable bowl syndrome and other
conditions, which may then be treated as necessary. Although it is not expected to replace
endoscopies or colonoscopies-which can be utilized for treatment, e.g. taking biopsies and
pinching off pre-cancerous polyps, as well as for diagnosis-the developers believe that
the new technology will save the health system considerable money, as less accurate and
painful endoscopies are much more costly than the $300 capsule. Company officials explain
that it is an adjunctive tool which they believe will eventually play a significant part
in gastroenterological medicine.
In order to get approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, the device
will be tested on 20 patients in London, New York and Israel. It is not yet planned to be
used on patients who have had major abdominal operations, a history of abdominal
obstruction, those with pacemakers or diabetes, or on pregnant women.
"The main potential advantage for patients is that we believe the device
will prove to be completely painless-they have just got to swallow the capsule,"
Professor Paul Swain of the Royal London Hospital explains. "We may be able to image
the lower part of the small bowel while the patient is walking around. The study is
designed to evaluate these aspects of the device".
The clinical trials will determine whether the wireless capsule technology
can detect pathologies that are notoriously difficult to diagnose. Prof. Eitan Scapa, who
heads the gastroenterology department at Assaf Harofe Hospital in Tzrifin-near Tel Aviv,
notes that many patients suffer blood loss from their small intestine, the source of which
can't be determined. "They often have to get regular blood transfusions and take iron
supplements. Now we can locate the cause, and the problem can be fixed in surgery."
Given Imaging Vice President Pablo Halpern says that if the trials are
successful, the device could be available for diagnosing patients in the US and Western
Europe by 2001. The company may then license the technology to others who want to adapt it
and use it for producing video images of the cancer-prone large intestine-colon, the
gynecological tract, and perhaps even the cardiovascular system.
"The system is intended to let us see new parts of the human body that
we really haven't examined before," adds Dr. Blair Lewis, who will be carrying out
the trials at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. "There are lots of
patients, both young and old, for whom this method of diagnosis could be extremely
worthwhile".
Text courtesy: Embassy of Israel, Kathmandu). |
