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Although, archaeological work for the Supreme Council of Antiquities is government employment, the nature of Qurnawi economics for those so employed is one that combines formal with informal money-earning activities. Even where such formal government work is not related to archaeology, informal aspects may still be present However, for many Qurnawi to identify themselves in the first instance as farmers, confirms that which escaped most of the early European visitors, namely the inherently agricultural quality of west bank subsistence. This chapter provides a discussion of Qurnawi agricultural practice that must be offered before considering Qurnawi involvement in archaeology. It aims to establish the variety of ways in which agricultural pursuits continue to form part of the range of economic practices to which Qurnawi in the Theban foothills have access.

The author of this chapter made a decision to study the animal mummy collection, and initiated the Animal Mummy Project, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum, with Nasry Iskander being the designated collaborator from the latter institution. This project was one of the first modern, large-scale, non-destructive studies of animal mummies of all species undertaken anywhere in the world. The chapter's author's primary interest lay in studying the process of mummification when applied to animals, to see if chronological and geographical changes/particularities could be mapped, to understand the different categories of animal mummies, and to learn more about the ancient Egyptian environment. The ultimate aim of this project, after the mummies had been examined, was to conserve them, to produce a new, updated Catalogue Général volume as the original one had been rendered obsolete, as well as to reinstall the mummies in a more sympathetic museum environment.

This chapter tells the story of the al-Rifa'i Mosque/Sultan Hasan Square located in an area of Cairo known as al-Khalifa at the foot of the Citadel. The space has undergone extensive transformations that are symptomatic of changing circumstances within Cairo, and were in turn a response to various globalizing tendencies, particularly the privatization of public space and the exclusion of certain undesired segments of the population. While this pedestrianization effort was carried out primarily to cater to the needs of tourism, the space was nevertheless “taken over” by people from the surrounding community. It became a popular hangout for the elderly and the retired, teenagers, women, and children—it truly became a people's space. The Supreme Council of Antiquities authorities grew alarmed by this and surrounded the entire area with a fence and two gates.