Four Egyptian archaeologists visited the Camillus aqueduct and Erie Canal Park Wednesday as part of a cultural heritage preservation program through the U.S. Department of State and International Center of Syracuse.
The visitors toured the Sims Store Museum and traveled a mile down the canal by boat to the aqueduct site.
Dr. Mohamed El Bialy, general director of antiquities of Aswan and Nubia, said historical sites like the aqueduct are just as important and in need of preservation as world-famous sites like the Pyramids of Giza.
“You can’t cut the past,” El Bialy said. “It is like a tree going under ground, if you would like to grow the tree, you can’t cut the roots.”
The town of Camillus recently announced that it will go to bid a second time on Aug. 19 for the aqueduct renovation project. The initial attempt in 2004 to start the renovation process was stalled when the town did not receive any bids within the project budget.
