Zahi Hawass

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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 Criticism 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Career

Hawass originally intended to become a lawyer, but then studied Greek and Roman archeology 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.

After 1988, he taught Egyptian archeology, 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. As of 2008, he is considered the highest-ranking archaeologist in Egypt.^[2]

[edit] Appearances

Hawass has appeared on television specials on channels such as The History Channel and The Discovery Channel. 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.

He is the author of many books including King Tutankhamun: The Treasures from the Tomb,^[3] published to coincide with a major exhibition in the UK.^[4] 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.

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

Hawass was also present for the opening of the UK exhibition, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" in London and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when the exhibition traveled there.

In the March 2008 issue of National Geographic Kids, Hawass was in the Dare To Explore chapter.

[edit] Positions

Hawass is currently spearheading a movement to return many prominent 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 Chephren Pyramid), 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."^[6][7]

Hawass is also a vocal opponent of ancient astronauts theories about a previous 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. Hawass is now a regular columnist for Egypt Today magazine.^[8] 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.

He is opposed to the claims of Afrocentrists.^[9] According to Dr. Hawass "Tutankhamun was not black, and the portrayal of ancient Egyptian civilization as black has no element of truth to it."^[10]

[edit] Criticism

In the West, some have accused Hawass of dominating the field of Egyptology, for reasons such as not allowing 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 native Egyptians to improve their expertise on methods of excavation, retrieval and preservation.^[12]

Afrocentrists, who maintain that Ancient Egypt was a black civilization have charged Hawass with distorting the History of ancient Egypt to portray it as non-black (see Race of ancient Egyptians). Hawass has stated, in reply, that "Egyptians are not Arabs and are not Africans despite the fact that Egypt is in Africa."^[13]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The king of the pharaohs – Tim Radford; The Guardian, 27 November 2003.
• CEO backs down in dispute over Egyptian sarcophagus
• The Plateau Official Website of Zahi Hawass

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