Zahi Hawass

Vocation

Notable

Traits

Egyptian world renowned archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He was director of Excavations at Giza, Saqqara, Bahariya Oasis, and the Valley of the Kings. He has written numerous scholarly articles and books, and is a highly respected Egyptologist. Known for his charisma and ability to reach out to the public, for more than thirty years he has been raising awareness of archaeology and the preservation of Egypt’s precious heritage. Dr Hawass has made a number of major discoveries over the course of his career, including the Tombs of the Pyramid Builders at Giza and the Valley of the Golden Mummies at Bahariya Oasis. He has discovered two previously unknown Old Kingdom pyramids, one near the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza, and one belonging to a queen of King Teti at Saqqara. Also at Saqqara, he rediscovered the pyramid of the 6th Dynasty queen Khuit, along with another pyramid which he has determined that it belonged to a 5th Dynasty queen. Dr Hawass has been involved in several other important archaeological projects. He led the search for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony on the premises of a Ptolemaic temple near Alexandria. He enriched the search for the so-called “hidden doors” inside the Great Pyramid. In addition, Dr Hawass launched a new excavation under the Nile River’s waters, searching for missing obelisks and statues. One of the most significant research efforts led and managed by Dr Hawass was the Egyptian Mummy Project (EMP), which used modern forensic techniques such as CT and DNA analysis to answer questions about the royal mummies. Some of the most important discoveries that Dr Hawass has made through the EMP are his identification of the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, the uncovering of the family of King Tutankhamun, and solving the mystery of the murder of Ramesses III. Link to Wikipedia biography