American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)

Services

Cairo, Egypt

Founded in 1948, the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is a private, nonprofit membership organization comprised of educational and cultural institutions, professional scholars and private individuals. ARCE's mission is to support research on all aspects of Egyptian history and culture, foster a broader knowledge of Egypt among the general public, and strengthen American-Egyptian cultural ties.

ARCE serves the academic community by providing critical logistical support to expeditions and research projects of American academic and cultural institutions. It provides a permanent base in Cairo for scholars studying Egypt from prehistory to the present day. More than a dozen archaeological teams sponsored by leading American universities are assisted annually by our Cairo Center, which also houses a library offering scholars 25,000 volumes on all periods of Egyptian history.

Additionally, ARCE offers training programs largely for the benefit of Egyptian colleagues in field archaeology, conservation techniques, salvage archaeology, site management, and museum registrar practices. ARCE has constructed a conservation facility for the use of our colleagues at the MOA. This is the first-ever sole-purpose conservation facility to be constructed on-site in the Luxor complex and is designed to blend with its environment. 

On the ground, ARCE has directly participated in the conservation of the nearly lost Roman frescos in the Luxor Temple, conservation of our first Medieval Mosque in Cairo (with the assistance of the Aga Khan Foundation), monitoring and conservation work on the East Bank at Luxor centered on the Karnak, Mut, and Luxor temple complexes (with assistance from the MSA, the Franco-Egyptian Center, the Brooklyn Museum Mut Expedition, the Johns Hopkins Expedition, and Chicago House).