Egypt bans Dutch archaeology team from digging in Saqqara over Afrocentric exhibition

Egypt banned a team of Dutch archaeologists on Wednesday from carrying out excavation missions in the Saqqara necropolis over Afrocentric exhibition.

The Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (RMO) in Leiden opened an exhibition under the title Kemet: Egypt in Hip Hop, Jazz, Soul & Funk, which depicted ancient Egyptian kings and queens as black American celebrities.

The word Kemet in the exhibitions title means “the black land”

Shortly after the exhibition opened, the museum received an email form head of foreign missions of the Egyptian Antiquities Service calling out the museum for “falsifying history” with its Afrocentric approach.

The Dutch museum has been carrying out various excavations for more than 40 years. The museum’s director, Pieter ter Keurs, said they were “trying to open the dialogue” with the Egyptian authorities.

However, he also acknowledged that Egyptians have every right to stop excavation works when they want to, as it is their country and heritage.

The exhibition comes a few weeks after the Egyptian authorities condemned and sued Netflix for producing a docudrama depicting, Cleopatra, the Greek Queen of Egypt, as black.