Zahi Hawass

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Zahi Hawass زاهي حواس
Zahi Hawass in Paestum, Nov 2006
Born	28 May 1947 (1947-05-28) (age 62) Damietta, Egypt
Nationality	Egyptian
Fields	Egyptology
Institutions	Supreme Council of Antiquities
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania University of Cairo Alexandria University
Known for	Pyramid of Queen Sesheshet

Zahi Hawass (Arabic: زاهي حواس‎) (born 28 May 1947 in Damietta, Egypt) is an Egyptian archaeologist and Egyptologist and the current Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.^[1] He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley.

Contents 1 Career 2 Appearances 3 Positions 4 Works 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Career

Hawass originally intended to become a lawyer, but then studied Greek and Roman archaeology at Alexandria University, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree. He obtained a diploma in Egyptology at the University of Cairo, then continuing his studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his Doctoral Degree (Ph.D) in 1987.^[2]

After 1988, he taught Egyptian archaeology, history and culture, mostly at the American University in Cairo and the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1998, he was appointed secretary of state and director of the Giza Plateau. In 2002 he was appointed Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. In 2009, when President Barack Obama was in Cairo, Hawass gave him personal tours of the sights of ancient Egypt.

[edit] Appearances

Hawass has appeared on television specials on channels such as the National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and Discovery Channel.^[3] Hawass has also appeared in several episodes of the U.S. television show Digging for the Truth, discussing mummies, the pyramids, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra, and Ramesses II.

Hawass also worked alongside Egyptologist Otto Schaden during the opening of Tomb KV63 in February 2006 — the first intact tomb to be found in the Valley of the Kings since 1922.^[4]

In June 2007, Hawass announced that he and a team of experts may have identified^[5] the mummy of Hatshepsut in KV60, a small tomb in the Valley of the Kings.^[1] The opening of the sealed tomb was described in 2006 as "one of the most important events in the Valley of the Kings for almost a hundred years."^[6]

With the assistance of some of the world's leading Egyptologists, Hawass created and hosted the documentary Egypt's Ten Greatest Discoveries.

[edit] Positions

Hawass is currently spearheading a movement to return many prominent unique and/or irregularly taken Ancient Egyptian artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone, the bust of Nefertiti, the zodiac ceiling painting from the Dendera Temple, the bust of Ankhhaf (the architect of the Khafra Pyramid), the faces of Amenhotep III's tomb at the Louvre Museum, the Luxor Temple's obelisk at the Place de la Concorde and the statue of Hemiunu, nephew of the Pharaoh Khufu, builder of the largest pyramid, to Egypt from collections in various other countries. In July 2003, the Egyptians demanded the return of the Rosetta Stone. Hawass, as secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo, told the press, "If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity."^[7][8]

Hawass is also a vocal opponent of ancient astronauts' theories about a previous highly technologically advanced, worldwide civilization. He appeared on a History Channel show to dispel the theories, and provided evidence to show that the Egyptians built the pyramids of Egypt.

He is opposed to the claims of Afrocentrists.^[9] According to Hawass "Tutankhamun was not black, and the portrayal of ancient Egyptian civilization as black has no element of truth to it."^[9]

In the West, Hawass has been accused of domineering behaviour, including forbidding archaeologists to announce their own findings, and courting the media for his own gain after they were denied access to archaeological sites because, according to Hawass, they were too amateurish.^[10] Others however, including several Egyptologists, have said in interviews that most of what Hawass has done for the field was long overdue.^[10] Hawass has typically ignored or dismissed his critics, and when asked about it, he indicated that what he does is for the sake of Egypt and the preservation of its antiquities. Hawass has instituted a systematic program for the preservation and restoration of historical monuments, while training Egyptians to improve their expertise on methods of excavation, retrieval and preservation.^[11]

Hawass is skeptical to DNA testing of Egyptian mummies. He stated that "From what I understand, it is not always accurate and it cannot always be done with complete success when dealing with mummies. Until we know for sure that it is accurate, we will not use it in our research". ^[12] In December 2000, a joint team from Waseda University in Japan and Cairo's Ain Shams University tried to get permission for DNA testing of Egyptian mummies, but was denied by the Egyptian Government. Hawass added that DNA analysis was out of the question because it would not lead to anything. ^[13]

In an interview with Mahmoud Saad on the television show El-Beit Beitek, which aired on Egyptian TV on February 11, 2009 (as translated by MEMRI), Hawass reportedly garned controversy when he stated:

"For 18 centuries [the Jews] were dispersed throughout the world. They went to America and took control of its economy. They have a plan. Although they are few in number, they control the entire world...they are always united over a single view. They always move together, even if in the wrong direction... Look at the control they have over America and the media... It was unity that gave them this power."^[14]

Hawass later wrote a clarification, stating that he was contrasting the relative unity of the international Jewish community with the political fragmentation among the Arabs and that he does not believe in "a sinister Jewish conspiracy to control the world." Hawass stated that he was using rhetoric to highlight the disunity in the Arab world and that he rejects the "myth of a universal Zionist conspiracy.” He noted that he has advocated for the preservation of Egypt’s Jewish monuments.^[15][16]

[edit] Works

Hawass has written and co-written many books relating to Egyptology. Many of his books coincide with his positions of Ancient Egypt. He is the author of many books including King Tutankhamun: The Treasures from the Tomb,^[17] published to coincide with a major exhibition in the UK.^[18] He has also written an article on Tutankhamun in Ancient Egypt magazine, and has written several articles for this bi-monthly UK-based magazine in the past.

Hawass is now a regular columnist for Egypt Today magazine.^[19]

[edit] References

Wikinews has related news: Egyptian archaeologist finds artifacts which may lead to Cleopatra's tomb

Wikinews has related news: Egyptian archaeologists announce discovery of marble statue and 132 new sites

[edit] External links

• The king of the pharaohs – Tim Radford; The Guardian, 27 November 2003.
• DrHawass.com Official Website of Zahi Hawass starting 2009
• The Plateau Official Website of Zahi Hawass until 2009

Persondata
NAME	Hawass, Zahi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	د. زاهي حواس
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Egyptologist, archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH	28 May 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH	Damietta, Egypt
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH