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Zahi Hawass

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Zahi Hawass
زاهي حواس
Zahi Hawass in Paestum, Nov 2006
Born (1947-05-28) 28 May 1947 (age 77)
Damietta, Egypt
NationalityEgyptian
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
University of Cairo
Alexandria University
Known forPyramid of Queen Sesheshet
Scientific career
FieldsEgyptology
InstitutionsSupreme Council of Antiquities

Zahi Hawass (Template:Lang-ar) (born 28 May 1947 in Damietta, Egypt) is an Egyptian archaeologist, an 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.

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. In 1987, he received his Doctoral Degree (Ph.D) from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied as a Fulbright Fellow.[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 1993, Hawass left his position as Chief Inspector of the Giza Pyarmid Plateau. According to Hawass, resigned. [3] Others claim, however, that he was fired because a valuable ancient "statue" under the custody of Hawass was stolen from Giza. He was reinstated as Chief Inspector early 1994. [4][5][6] In 1998, he was appointed as director of the Giza Plateau. In 2002 he was appointed Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. In 2009, when U.S. President Barack Obama was in Cairo, Hawass gave him personal tours of the sights of ancient Egypt. At the end of 2009, Dr. Hawass was promoted personally by President Mubarak to the post of Vice Minister of Culture. [3]

Appearances

Hawass has appeared on television specials on channels such as the National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and Discovery Channel.[4] 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.[5]

In June 2007, Hawass announced that he and a team of experts may have identified[6] 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."[7]

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

Views

Zahi Hawass book signing in Mexico City, August 2003.

Return of artifacts to Egypt

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 Dendera 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."[8][9]

Ancient astronauts

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.

Opposition to Afrocentrists

He is opposed to the claims of Afrocentrists.[10] According to Hawass "Tutankhamun was not black, and the portrayal of ancient Egyptian civilization as black has no element of truth to it."[10]

Criticism in the West

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.[11] Others however, including several Egyptologists, have said in interviews that most of what Hawass has done for the field was long overdue.[11] 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.[12]

DNA testing of Egyptian mummies

Hawass is skeptical of 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". [13] 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. [14]

Statements about Jews

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 sparked controversy when he stated [15]:

"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."[16]

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.[17][18]

However this was not the only time that Hawass has commented on the Jews.

In an article for the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published on January 22, 2009, which is distributed around the world, Hawass wrote that:

"The concept of killing women, children and elderly people... seems to run in the blood of the Jews of Palestine. [In fact,] it seems to have become part of the false faith of this people, who is tormenting us in our [own] homeland.”

"When I speak of the Jewish faith, I do not mean their [original] faith, but the faith that they forged and contaminated with their poison, which is aimed against all of mankind... The only thing that the Jews have learned from history is methods of tyranny and torment - so much so that they have become artists in this field. They have done to the Palestinians what Pharaoh and Sargon [of Akkad] did to the Jews..."[19]

Works

Main article: List of works by Zahi Hawass

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,[20] published to coincide with a major exhibition in the UK.[21] 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.[22]

Hawass is also a regular contributor to the online historical community, Heritage Key. He has narrated several videos on Egyptology, including a series on Tutankhamun.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b Zahi Hawass's home page
  2. ^ The Funerary Establishments of Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura During the Old Kingdom. Zahi A. Hawass, The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of the State of Pennsylvania, retrieved 14 May 2009[1]
  3. ^ http://drhawass.com/blog/dr-hawass-named-vice-minister-culture-egypt
  4. ^ http://www.history.com/minisites/lostpyramid
  5. ^ http://www.kv-63.com/
  6. ^ The Quest for Hatshepsut - Discovering the Mummy of Egypt's Greatest Female Pharaoh
  7. ^ "King Tut's Mystery Tomb Opened", video documentary, Discovery Channel, first aired 9 July 2006
  8. ^ Charlotte Edwardes and Catherine Milner (2003-07-20). "Egypt demands return of the Rosetta Stone". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  9. ^ Henry Huttinger (2005-07-28). "Stolen Treasures: Zahi Hawass wants the Rosetta Stone back, among other things". Cairo Magazine. Retrieved 2006-10-06.
  10. ^ a b Egyptology News» Blog Archive » Hawass says that Tutankhamun was not black
  11. ^ a b The Show-Biz Pharaoh of Egypt's Antiquities. Sharon Waxman. New York Times. 13 June 2005.
  12. ^ Hawass, Zahi (2005). "A New Era for Museums in Egypt". Museum International. 57 (1–2). Oxford: Blackwell Synergy: 7–23. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0033.2005.00505.x. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  13. ^ "Unravelling the Mummy Mystery - Using DNA (citing Interview with al-Ahram issue 512.)". Egyptology Online. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  14. ^ "Unravelling the Mummy Mystery - Using DNA (citing Interview with "Travel Egypt" magazine, 2004.)". Egyptology Online. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  15. ^ Video Clip: Renowned Egyptian Archeologist Zahi Hawass: Jews Control the Entire World, March 30, 2009.
  16. ^ Renowned Egyptian Archeologist Zahi Hawass: Jews Control the Entire World, MEMRI, Clip No. 2049 - transcipt, February 11, 2009.
  17. ^ The Jews' secret weapon: Bickering by Jonathan Kay, National Post, April 20, 2009.
  18. ^ Clarification of Remarks on Jewish History, Zahi Hawass's blog.
  19. ^ Antisemitic Statements and Cartoons in Wake of Gaza War, March 30, 2009.
  20. ^ King Tutankamun: The Treasures of the Tomb : Books : Thames & Hudson
  21. ^ King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition
  22. ^ Egypt Today - The Magazine Of Egypt
  23. ^ [2]

Further reading

Parker, Ian. “The Pharaoh - Is Zahi Hawass bad for Egyptology?” The New Yorker, 16th November 2009. Pages 53 to 63.

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