MEGAN KIRBY Staff Writer
mkirby20@student.scad.edu

Zahi Hawass, PhD., the world-famous Egyptologist, scholar and adventurer, visited SCAD Feb. 20 as a keynote speaker at the architectural history department’s sixth Savannah Symposium on World Heritage.

Hawass, the Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, oversees the Pyramids, the Sphinx, and all the temples, monuments and artifacts in Egypt. He controls all archaeological activity at Giza, Saqqara, and the Bahariya Oasis. He is, as Time magazine wrote, when naming him to their 2005 list of the 100 Most Influential People, “The Man.”

For his work in the field of Egyptology Hawass was recently named a Goodwill Ambassador to Japan, on top of his titles of Commander and Officer in the Italian and French governments, respectively. In 2001 he was named the eighth ‘Explorer in Residence’ by National Geographic, and for his work on a 2006 documentary, he won an Emmy award.

Balancing his time between archaeological fieldwork, traveling the world, speaking about his latest discoveries and personal experiences in the study of ancient Egypt, Hawass is constantly busy. His visit to SCAD was the icing on the cake for what turned out to be a very ancient Egyptian-influenced winter quarter for the Art History Department.

For the first time in a year, ARTH 333, Egyptian Art and Archaeology, was offered at the Savannah campus. Taught by professor Patricia Butz, the class had not only the benefit of attending Hawass’s lecture, but a chance to view the incredibly rare and valuable artifacts of the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit, currently on display in Atlanta. The trip, arranged by the Art History Society, allowed 33 students to see approximately 150 artifacts relating to the lineage and reign of Tutankhamun.

The show, which has been extremely popular in Atlanta and around the country, is on display until May at the Atlanta Civic Center. The proceeds from Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs assist preservation efforts in Egypt, as well as aid in funding the construction of a new Grand Museum on the Giza Plateau, set to replace the current Cairo Museum in 2012.

I had the honor of interviewing Hawass before his lecture. He was incredibly kind and receptive of my questions, and expressed endless enthusiasm for not only his own work in the field, but for the future of Egyptology as a whole.

Kirby: Dr. Hawass, I’m honored to meet you. I have a couple questions here for you specifically about Egyptology. We obviously don’t have an Egyptology major here at SCAD, but we have art history, certainly. You’ve famously stated that only 30 percent of Egypt’s monuments have been uncovered. I want to know what advice you have for up-and-coming archaeologists and Egyptologists who want to help uncover the remaining 70 percent?

Hawass: There are many people who have a degree in Egyptology. But the most important thing that the person who takes a degree in Egyptology should have is the passion for archaeology, and that will help them to do more work in Egyptology. But if you take a degree and you don’t have the passion, then…

Kirby: … Then it’s not worth it.

Hawass: Yes. [laughs]

Kirby: We have—well, this is an art school, so we have a lot of illustration majors, and just this year SCAD has added a scientific illustration minor. Are there jobs for artists in Egyptology, work such as drawing or documenting?

Hawass: There is, yes. On our expedition or excavation, the most important part is the draftsman; he comes and draws the hieroglyphics. It’s an important part of the work, and especially someone who loves the fieldwork will join us and do that. I do have many people from Egypt and the United States who do this work.

Kirby: You mentioned that you have people from Egypt on your team. I’ve been following your excavations in Saqqara and you mentioned that you’ve assembled your first all-Egyptian dig team, is that correct?

Hawass: Yes.

Kirby: Do you think the field of Egyptology is finally in the hands of the Egyptians?

Hawass: Well, I’ll tell you one thing; I think that the Egyptology of the past was only for foreigners, and I think that they [Egyptians] did participate, but I’m trying to bring back the glory of Egyptology for Egypt. But it’s not all Egyptians, it’s Egyptians and foreigners, that’s very important. Egyptians have to compete with foreigners, and therefore I told them, “You want to compete? You have to be good. To be good, you have to be trained.” I teach them on the excavation techniques and epigraphy and I send them outside of Egypt to get a degree and come back. And I really believe that now, for the first time, we have really good people. And the team who works with me—they have made discoveries all over the world. We have 250 foreign expeditions working in Egypt. But my expedition is becoming more important because of our discoveries. We helped discover, in Saqqara, last Wednesday, a shaft—it goes down for about 60 feet. And inside the shaft, a sarcophagus. And I opened it live, last Wednesday. And you can see, we’re excavating in the Valley of the Kings, looking for KV64. And we believe that the tomb of Nefertiti and some of her daughters should be somewhere in the Valley. You can believe it—63 tombs were found in the Valley of the Kings. All 63 were found by foreigners. No one tomb in the past was found by Egyptians. And I’m very happy that now, for the first time, excavating with the young people who I trained in the field of Egyptology, for the first time, we will reveal KV64, which is in the Valley of the Kings.

Kirby: That’s fantastic. Do you think that there is, out there in the future, one (or many more) finds on par with that of King Tut?

Hawass: Of course. I always say, “Who knows what the sand of Egypt is hiding? Secrets.” You see, there are many secrets to be discovered. You know, in about two weeks from now I will announce—for the first time—an important study that I did with DNA and a CAT scan machine to reveal the family of King Tut; who was the real father and the mother and everything about his family. Because we know very little about that. And with DNA and a CAT scan, we were able to reveal, for the fist time, an important discovery that I will announce about two weeks from now. And it will be very important for people to know about this. The second thing that I’m also trying to discover is KV64. for the first time in the Valley of the Kings; [I am] looking for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Also, the secrets behind the secret doors I found inside the great pyramid. Year 2009 will be the year I come to reveal the secrets of the secrets of the pyramid for the first time.

Kirby: The King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit is in Atlanta right now and a group from SCAD is going to see it soon. Its been extremely popular, its been a blockbuster—sold out. And the proceeds from the show will, as you put it, ‘raise much-needed funds for the preservation of Egypt’s monuments.’ What monuments, in your opinion, are in the most dire need of attention right now?

Hawass: The most important thing we are really concerned about now is the preservation of Egyptian monuments, because it’s very important to preserve what you have. We are restoring, now, the preservation of the Step Pyramid, in Egypt. [It is a] major, important conservation. And also at the same time we are doing site management, trying to protect the sites in Egypt by building safe zoning and visitors centers. We are restoring Jewish synagogues and mosques in Old Cairo; churches and all of this kind of thing, really for the first time—important things—and this is important to preserve what you have for the future, for all of us.

Kirby: On that same train of thought, would you like to see access to the pyramids more controlled and more restricted because of the often destructive general public? And how have you dealt with the yearly influx of the millions of people who come to visit the pyramids?

Hawass: We do; we have limits, about 300 people a day can make an entrance at the Great Pyramid. And we open and close sites. This year I’m calling the ‘Year of the Pyramids’ because I’m doing the preservation of the pyramids. And starting this September, we will not let any cars to go up the plateau, cars will take people from the desert and come back, and for the first time, you will go to the pyramid and feel the magic of the pyramids. Because no one will be selling souvenirs, you know.

Kirby: And your plans for the new museum on the Giza Plateau sound incredible…

Hawass: –Yes, the Grand Museum. It will take about five years to finish. In five years exactly, this museum will be open for all time. We [Egypt] are building something like 19 museums. Next September, we will open the Islamic museum. A Greek and Roman museum will be open two years from now. We are opening a big museum in Cairo next month. And we are working on finishing an Akhenaten museum in Minya and many museums everywhere. We are really trying to show the Egyptian monuments in a better way. A Luxor museum, a Coptic museum that’s opened, an Imhotep museum. In Alexandria, the jewelry museum will be opened two months from now. We have really major museums [that] will be opened to the public for the first time.

Kirby: I’ve heard there’s going to be an underwater museum?

Hawass: We are, we are doing a feasibility study for building this underwater museum.

Kirby: [laughs] That’s amazing. Speaking of museums, you applauded Emory University’s Carlos Museum for voluntarily returning the mummy of Ramses I. However, it’s obviously been a lengthy process to secure other artifacts that are spread throughout the world. What would you most like to see returned to Egypt, if you could have your pick?

Hawass: You know, I always say there are five pieces that will go back to Egypt, and I think I am going to bring them back. I’ve brought back more than 5,000 artifacts from everywhere—its been a war between me and the world—but the most important five objects I want to have returned—and I will return them—are, firstly, the bust of Nefertiti.

Kirby: Yes, isn’t it in Germany?

Hawass: Yes, In Berlin. And the second is the Rosetta stone. And the Zodiac at the Louvre. The Rosetta Stone—it’s at the British museum. And the statue of Hemiunu at the Hildesheim museum, and finally, from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the bust of Ankhhaf. And those are the five important pieces I want to have returned back, and I will return them back.

Kirby: To the new museum, when it opens?

Hawass: Yes, we are after these artifacts to first visit us. We are opening Egypt to foreign countries to excavate, and foreign teams, and these monuments belong to Egypt, and I think we have the right to return our objects back. And this is really my goal and my fight now.

Kirby: The sixth Savannah Symposium is one of the great things that SCAD puts on every couple years—the architectural history department hosts it—and I was wondering how you feel the symposium impacts the students here at SCAD.

Hawass: I think it’s really a great idea to talk about World Heritage sites; and also to see how people decide what we need to have a World Heritage site. Actually, I work closely with UNESCO, and we are hoping to add some new sites to the World Heritage list. I really believe that your conference is really important because it teaches people what’s important to call a site, what’s important to conserve at a site. It’s important, and the world has to be aware and engaged in an archaeological site, and I’m happy to see that your university in Savannah is really doing something.

Kirby: This work is obviously more than a job to you; it’s your life, your passion. What is it, specifically, about it that you love, and when was it when you found out that this is what you wanted to do?

Hawass: You know, I was young; I wanted to be a lawyer. But when I got the books of law and I read them, I hated law, I decided to leave. I was of the age of 15 and a half. And then I went to the faculty of arts and I studied archaeology—Greek and Roman archaeology in Egypt. I finished at the age of 19 and a half, and actually I did not like archaeology, at all. I went to take a job—I was about 20 years and a half—and I went to the department, and I found people at the age of 60—[they were] old; they did nothing with their lives—and I said to myself, ‘Am I going to be like these people? No way!’ I did my best to leave antiquities, but I failed. I tried to be a diplomat and I failed. And when I came back to antiquities, by force, in the desert, I was unhappy. But one day, the workman found a statue in the desert and they called me to come and look at this statue. Actually I was not going—I wasn’t going to go, but I felt bad; I thought, ‘I have to see that statue because I am going to Cairo today.’ But when I went to the state, and the workman, he asked me to sit down beside him, and I began to brush that statue, and clean it, and this is when I said, “I found my love: archaeology.” And ever since that time, more than 40 years ago, I have devoted my life and my passion to this field. I have begun to see that archaeology, for me, is like… someone; like a lady that you’re in love with.

Kirby: You’re obviously very successful, being Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. What advice would you have for someone, who’s just starting out and who wants to follow in your footsteps?

Hawass: I think the only thing for anyone who wants to go into archaeology is this, I always give this big, important advice: “If you like something, its not enough. If you say, ‘I like archaeology,’ it’s not enough. If you say ‘I love something,’ it’s not enough. If you want to really do archaeology, you have to give your passion to archaeology. And that passion will make archaeology—your excavations, your conservation, for you something like a thrill. For the first time you’re taking a statue out of the sand and it’s touched by your hand, that’s something you cannot see on any show on earth, and if you give your passion to that, to archaeology, something will lift in your heart, and you will be the happiest person on earth, because you will be only about archaeology.

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