“In Egypt you need a project that everyone can believe in, a national project.
We have to learn from ancient Egypt.”
ZAHI HAWASS
EGYPT'S TOMB RAIDER, OFF and (MOSTLY) ON CAMERA
The New York Times
MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: April 17, 2009
CAIRO
MORE than 2,500 years ago the mummified corpse of a wealthy man was carefully lowered into a hand-carved tomb 60 feet beneath the surface of the desert. His remains were placed inside a heavy limestone coffin and sealed for eternity.
Well, that was the idea.
Then one day in March 2009 workers inside the death chamber cracked the coffin lid in the middle, pushed aside one half and for the first time in two and a half millennia exposed the man’s remains. And who was there to greet this mummy?
Why even ask? This is Egypt, so it had to be Zahi Hawass.
“I think this guy was important,” Dr. Hawass said with a theatrical flourish, as he brushed some dust from the mummy for the cameras.
In the seven years since he was named general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Hawass has been in perpetual motion. He personally announces every new discovery, was the force behind plans to construct 19 new museums, approved the restoration of nine synagogues in Cairo and has contributed to countless books, documentaries, magazine and newspaper articles all promoting Egyptian antiquities — and, of course, himself.
Naturally, this does not always win him friends, and he has been taken to task for his critical statements about Jews. He insists, though, that he is not anti-Semitic and that his remarks were aimed only at Israeli Jews and their treatment of the Palestinians.
There are scientists who say he is too concerned with self-promotion and is often loose with facts. There are Egyptian antiquities workers who complain that he takes credit for their accomplishments. But his penchant for drama and his virtual monopoly over Egypt’s unrivaled ancient riches have earned him an international following and helped Egypt sell itself to tourists at a time when tourism dollars are increasingly scarce.
“Whether we like it or not, he is a star, and he lives the life of a star,” said Mahmoud Ibrahim Hussein, chairman of the antiquities department at Cairo University. “When he goes to a place, people gather around him to talk to him. Many professors give lectures; but people pay more to hear Zahi speak.”
Dr. Hawass was born in the village of Al Ubaydiyah, near the city of Damietta northeast of Cairo in the Nile Delta region. He joined the nation’s antiquities service as an inspector in 1969, about two years after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Greek and Roman archaeology from Alexandria University. In 1987, he received his Ph.D. after studying as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. On Jan. 1, 2002, he was named general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and he has never looked back.
It was 10:15 a.m., and Dr. Hawass was waiting at the base of a recent excavation. He was annoyed because he had to wait 15 minutes. He was tapping his foot. “You have become Egyptian,” he said to his tardy guests, then broke into a big white smile. Over the next hour, the 62-year-old Egyptologist would climb over ancient graves and down rickety ladders and lower himself deep into an ancient tomb — while at the same time recording video for his personal Web site.
HE is the very definition of multitasking. “Quick, take off your hat,” Dr. Hawass said. He was waving what looked like a replica of the Indiana Jones-style hat that he always wears. Actually, it was a replica, with his autograph embossed on the inside and a small tag with his picture hanging from the band.
“I gave one just like this to President Bush,” he said with the casual tone of a name dropper. “His wife said it was too small for his head. He was very disappointed.”
Dr. Hawass was standing inside a recently unearthed death chamber that had been carved out of the ground about 4,300 years ago for a pharaoh’s mother. At least, that was what he theorized. When the ruins do not reveal a detail, Dr. Hawass often tries to fill in the blanks, spinning stories based on his vast knowledge of Egyptian history — and his showman’s desire to attract the biggest crowd.
When a tomb was found in the Valley of the Kings three years ago, he surmised that it was built for King Tut’s mother, a sure way to drive up ratings, even as scientists involved in the dig rolled their eyes. The chamber was most likely a storage room, they said at the time.
He looks beyond filling in the blanks of the past. Dr. Hawass says he sees in the discoveries a way to salvage Egypt’s troubled present and its uncertain future. He thinks modern Egypt could benefit from uniting behind a “national project,” the way ancient Egyptians did when they built the pyramids and tombs.
“In Egypt you need a project that everyone can believe in, a national project,” Dr. Hawass said, standing beside a marvel of ancient craftsmanship, two massive slabs of red granite, carved with simple hand tools and hauled hundreds of miles north from the rocky terrain of Luxor to a small limestone pyramid here just outside of modern Cairo “We have to learn from ancient Egypt.”
His idea is not so outlandish, said Gamal Ghitany, editor of an Egyptian literary magazine. “Of course we need one today, but a national project means a larger goal that all of society can be united behind,” he said.
Dr. Hawass does not talk politics, and he gets impatient if he is asked to linger on a subject too long. Enough of the national project and the death chamber. He took off in his S.U.V. with a small entourage to show off the new cemetery, which was just recently discovered. Like the death chamber, the cemetery was discovered when the police caught thieves digging into the sand. Dr. Hawass said they excavated and revealed the largest continuously used cemetery in Egypt, with graves that spanned thousands of years.
Most of the tombs had been robbed in antiquity. But the one for the wealthy man remained intact. The entrance looked like a water well, with a timber positioned over the top, a rope twirled around the timber and a rubber basket tied at the end. Dr. Hawass jammed his left foot into the basket, grabbed hold of the rope and stood there as a team of workers lowered him down the shaft. “Hurry,” he shouted, as he spun and banged against the walls. “That was not too safe,” he acknowledged, when finally at the bottom.
The tomb was cool and dark, illuminated by a single light bulb. There were three shelves carved into the walls. One had four small mummies and a mummified dog. The other two were loaded with human bones and skulls.
THEN Dr. Hawass turned his attention to the coffin with the cracked lid and the intact mummy. “I think he was the mayor,” Dr. Hawass said. “He had to have money to be buried like this in limestone.”
By now, the workers had lowered a very large wooden ladder down the shaft so that Dr. Hawass could climb back up. Once outside, he shot some video for his Web site and then drove off. Less than two weeks later there was another discovery, dozens of brightly painted mummies found in a necropolis in Fayoum, the oasis town about two hours south of Cairo. There were 53 tombs uncovered, some dating back 4,000 years. And who made the announcement?
Well, this is Egypt. Who else?
Mona el-Naggar
contributed reporting.