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Below are questions that my fans often ask. 
Zahi Hawass 

What inspired you to become an Egyptologist?

When I was young I had no idea about archeology. In fact, I only visited the pyramids once when I was 12 years old.  I came to Cairo from my village to visit my aunt and one day she took me to see the pyramids. When I finished high school, I wanted to be a lawyer because I wanted to defend people and I had seen lots of lawyers in the movies and I admired them and wanted to be like them. When I went to the University of Alexandria I bought many law books and when I started to read them I found that I did not like the study of law. I realized that I did not want to be a lawyer; I did not want to practice law.  I began to look for something else and I went to the Faculty of Arts and they told me about a new department called Archaeology. I had no idea what this was. I joined and stayed 4 years in this department. I focused on the Greco- Roman Period.  During my study I found that this was not something that I really liked or wanted to do.  When I graduated, I joined the Department of Antiquities in 1988 and became an Inspector of Antiquities. And even at that time, I wanted to change my career. I decided that I wanted to become a diplomat. I studied for one year and I passed the written exam but I could not pass the oral exam. Then I went back to the Department of Antiquities. After one year the Antiquities Department decided that I would become a member of an expedition that was excavating a site in the delta called Kom Abuo Bellou. I left Cairo and went to this site located in the desert of the Delta. At this site we discovered a large Pharaonic cemetery and one-day I discovered a tomb and I found in the niche of this tomb a beautiful statue. And then I took a brush and started to clean the sand from the statue – at that moment I found that the eyes of the statue were looking at my eyes and this touched my heart and I said that I found my love and my love is Archaeology! Since that time I have dedicated my life to archeology and I give passion to my work. From this story, I tell everyone, that you can learn many things. Inside us are things that we don’t know and we need to discover these things. Also it is very important to have passion for your work. Passion can make a small job a big one.  Sometimes, when you go into a career and think that you dislike it, it may be the best thing in the world you can do. I always tell people that if you give your life, your energy and passion to anything you choose to do, you’ll always get back what you put into it. 

Where did you go to college?

I graduated from Alexandria University, Faculty of Arts in Greco-Roman studies and then I obtained a post graduate diploma in Egyptology from Cairo University and then I did my Ph.D in archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania.

How long have you been an archeologist? How long do you plan on being an archaeologist?

I have been working as an Egyptologists since I graduated from Alexandria University (when I was 20 years old) and I became an Inspector of Antiquities with the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). Now I am the Secretary General of the SCA. I love my work and I will work until I die!

Do you enjoy your job?

I love my work, it is my passion! My work is always exciting. Ancient Egypt is like a puzzle and with every new discovery we find another piece of the puzzle, the history of ancient Egypt. The discovery of the Workmen’s Cemetery is the most significant discovery of my career.  We have been excavating the “Tombs of the Pyramid Builders” in Giza since 1990. These remarkable tombs have taught us important information about the workmen who constructed the pyramids. Through this discovery we have learned about their lives, diets and their daily work. This is the first time for archaeologists to learn these important facts about the men and women who dedicated their lives to the building of the pyramids. One of the biggest falsehoods about the Great Pyramid is that it was built by slaves. The discovery of the “Tombs of the Pyramid Builders” has completely put this theory to rest. We now know with certainty that the pyramids were built by Egyptian men and women – not slaves! The pyramids were the National Project of Egypt, symbolizing the might and power of the royal house. In ancient Egypt, it was essential for the king to build a tomb to ensure his rebirth as a god in the afterlife and thus magically maintaining the right order of the universe. Every household from Upper and Lower Egypt participated in the construction of the king’s tomb (pyramid). Every family helped by sending food, materials and manpower. From Hieroglyphic inscriptions and graffiti we infer that skilled builders and craftsmen probably worked year-round at the pyramid construction site. Peasant farmers from the surrounding villages and providences rotated in and out of the labor force.

What reasons would you give young people as to why they should study about ancient Egypt?

I always say that the history of Egypt is our shared heritage. It marks the beginning of civilization and therefore it is part of everyone’s past. Young people are our future and it will be in their hands that we leave the important monuments of ancient Egypt. Therefore, we must equip them with the tools needed to protect Egypt’s rich history. We have started field schools to teach our Inspectors of Antiquities the new conservation and restoration methods. We have also started many programs in Egypt to educate the young people such as a new children’s school at the Egyptian Museum and new programs are being established in the Egyptian school system that will have models of 25 masterpieces from the Egyptian Museums. I receive hundreds of letters from aspiring young Egyptologists and I answer every letter. I always tell young people that working hard is not enough that they have to have passion for their work. I recommend that they read everything they can on Egyptology, study very hard and when then go to university they should go to the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, John Hopkins University, or UCLA and become an Egyptologist.

How are you going to balance tourism, a major industry in Egypt and the protection of the monuments?

One of the things I am most proud of in my career is the the site management project in Giza. It has many aspects and I plan to implement them at all the historical sites in Egypt. For example, a rotation system, having one pyramid closed for cleaning and restoration and two pyramids open to the public. Each year a different pyramid would be closed. Also rotate the tombs that are open to the public. When people come to Giza they often just come to visit the Great pyramid, the Valley Temple of Khafre and they only spend about two hours at the site. They are missing so much, there are beautiful and historic tombs that we have opened to the public and are promoting. This will take some of the stress off of the high traffic areas. We have worked on cleaning up the site, keeping the venders at bay. We have restricted the number of people that can enter the Great Pyramid to 150 a day to keep the moister and other eroding factors under control. Also, we have just completed a new entrance to the pyramid area and we are working on stopping all vehicle traffic. We will have an information center and electric cars that transport the tourist. We built a picnic ground. Many tourist come to the pyramids, especially on holidays just to have a picnic under the shadow of the pyramids, by creating a place for them we are controlling the congestion near the monuments. We are opening mew sites. We have also closed some sites completely to ensure their protection like the pyramid of Unas, the first king of the 5^th Dynasty. We have extended the hours the Egyptian Museum is open. Until recently it closed at 4:30 and now it is open until 7pm. This will stop the rush and keep the crowds under control. I have also decided that no mission will be granted permission for new excavation projects from Giza to Abu Simbel. Teams will only be granted permission to do survey, restoration, GIS, and site management work.  However, I will give permission for new excavation in the Delta and the desert.

Do you regret not being in charge of the Giza plateau, the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx?

I don’t have any regrets about no longer being the Director of the Pyramids. I loved my position there and I have been able to continue all the aspects that I loved. I am the Director of all the excavating, so I go to Giza all the time to monitor the site. Now that I am Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), I do not have the time for all the administrative work at required at Giza. However, I have been able to continue with the excavating, which is what I love most. In fact, we recently discovered a 26^th Dynasty intact mummy in Bahariya Oasis. It is the best preserved 26^th Dynasty mummy that I have ever seen. 

Is the past relevant to the average Egyptian?

Thirty years ago when I first started my career with the SCA, most Egyptians were not interested in the history of ancient Egypt. However, over the years I have had the privilege to witness the ever-growing interest in our extraordinary past. Now, Egyptians are interested in our antiquities, they come to listen to my pubic lectures. They ask me about my adventures and are intrigued with our new discoveries. I plan to increase the interest in Egypt’s children. We are currently copying 20 of the artifacts from the Egyptian Museum and these copies will be on exhibit permanently at every primary school in Egypt.  We are currently developing a program to teach children Archeology. The Egyptian Museum will host birthday parties for children and I am in the process of writing a series of children’s books.

What is the biggest challenge facing Egypt and its cultural heritage today?

Our biggest challenge is the preservation of the monuments. I outlined the steps we are taking to protect our monuments in a previous question. Another challenge is the guards protecting our monuments. Can you imagine that the guards only make 100 LE a month (about $20). I think that we should no longer have tough guards with big sticks protecting our monuments using their strong personalities and family connections. We need to change the people who are guarding our sacred treasures and open a Guard Institute to train qualified people to protect and act as the guardians of the monuments. The Institute should only accept applicants with high school diplomas, and it should teach archaeology and discipline. The guards, salaries should be higher. These underpaid men are in charge of guarding the world’s greatest monuments. This is ridiculous! How can we expect the average guard to care about the monuments when they don’t even know the history of what they are protecting, and they make such a small salary. We are working now on documenting all the tombs and temples in Egypt on computers. There are many tombs that have been published but we need to have every tomb documented. If we do this we, would be able to quickly detect the stolen artifacts and ensure their speedy return. Each tomb should be opened periodically for inspection. It is not good to leave tombs closed for long periods of time. They need constant care to protect them from all the dangers that they face. Storage museums need to be built at every site, and we need to discontinue the use of the mud-brick storage sheds. We recently established a new department in the SCA to track stolen artifacts through Interlope. This department is working with law institutions world wide to track down artifacts in museums and in private collections and make sure that they are safely returned. The archeologists or as we call them Inspectors of Antiquities are our the future protectors of the monuments therefore, it is important that we promote and establish the best training program in the world to ensure that Egypt’s treasures, our worlds shared heritage is left in safe and competent hand  

What do you feel every time you see a new discovery?

With each new discovery we learn more about our cultural past, each new discovery gives us a better understanding of the Ancient Egyptian Civilization. Every time I find something new I feel it’s the discovery of the unknown. The overwhelming feelings I have each time I hold a new discovery in my hands is something that actually cannot be described.

What are your most exiting discoveries?

The discovery of the Workmen’s Cemetery is the most significant discovery of my career.  We have been excavating the “Tombs of the Pyramid Builders” in Giza since 1990. These remarkable tombs have taught us important information about the workmen who constructed the pyramids. Through this discovery we have learned about their lives, diets and their daily work. This is the first time for archaeologists to learn these important facts about the men and women who dedicated their lives to the building of the pyramids. One of the biggest falsehoods about the Great Pyramid is that it was built by slaves. The discovery of the “Tombs of the Pyramid Builders” has completely put this theory to rest. We now know with certainty that the pyramids were built by Egyptian men and women – not slaves! The pyramids were the National Project of Egypt, symbolizing the might and power of the royal house. In ancient Egypt, it was essential for the king to build a tomb to ensure his rebirth as a god in the afterlife and thus magically maintaining the right order of the universe. Every household from Upper and Lower Egypt participated in the construction of the king’s tomb (pyramid). Every family helped by sending food, materials and manpower. From Hieroglyphic inscriptions and graffiti we infer that skilled builders and craftsmen probably worked year-round at the pyramid construction site. Peasant farmers from the surrounding villages and providences rotated in and out of the labor force. The discovery of the workmen’s village came in a time when there was heated discussion about the pyramids being build by extraterrestrial people. Because Before the discovery we did not have any evidence about the people who built the pyramids. But now we know that the pyramids were built by the Ancient Egyptians themselves.

Old Egypt, what does it mean for you?

I always say that the history of Egypt is our shared heritage. It marks the beginning of civilization and therefore it is part of everyone’s past. Therefore a lot of conservation and preservation have to be done to safe the world’s heritage.

How has Archaeology changed in the last 10 or 20 years?

There is more science and high tech in archaeology now. For example we are using radar to see what is underground. We are also using CT scan to take images of mummies such as we did with the mummy of Tutanchamun. By using CT-scan mummies become alive again, we learn more about their health and diseases.

You have become famous all over the world. How have you changed the Egyptology?

I have given the Egyptian Egyptology a national voice, before it was ruled by the foreigners. I have helped give Egyptology a national face. I have also given a strategy for Archaeology which consists of 5 major topics:

1. site management.

2. building new museums

3. raising people’s awareness for the cultural heritage

4. return of stolen artifacts

5. preservation and conservation of the monuments

How are you preserving the archaeological treasures of your country?

One of the things I am most proud of in my career is the site management project in Giza. It has many aspects and I plan to implement them at all the historical sites in Egypt. For example, a rotation system, having one pyramid closed for cleaning and restoration and two pyramids open to the public. Each year a different pyramid would be closed. Also rotate the tombs that are open to the public. When people come to Giza they often just come to visit the Great pyramid, the Valley Temple of Khafre and they only spend about two hours at the site. They are missing so much, there are beautiful and historic tombs that we have opened to the public and are promoting. This will take some of the stress off of the high traffic areas. We have worked on cleaning up the site, keeping the venders at bay. We have restricted the number of people that can enter the Great Pyramid to 150 a day to keep the moister and other eroding factors under control. Also, we have just completed a new entrance to the pyramid area and we are working on stopping all vehicle traffic. We will have an information center and electric cars that transport the tourist. We built a picnic ground. Many tourist come to the pyramids, especially on holidays just to have a picnic under the shadow of the pyramids, by creating a place for them we are controlling the congestion near the monuments. We are opening mew sites. We have also closed some sites completely to ensure their protection like the pyramid of Unas, the last king of the 5^th Dynasty. We have extended the hours the Egyptian Museum is open. Until recently it closed at 4:30 and now it is open until 7pm. This will stop the rush and keep the crowds under control. I have also decided that no mission will be granted permission for new excavation projects from Giza to Abu Simbel. Teams will only be granted permission to do survey, restoration, GIS, and site management work.  However, I will give permission for new excavation in the Delta and the desert.  I do depend on the young people and try to give them the personality to make decisions in the future. I send them abroad to come back with solid knowledge to be able to tackle their tasks.

You have given all your life to archaeology. Do you regret it?

NO! I need the sand and the dust the way others need water and food. Archaeology is my life, my love, my passion… But I do regret people’s ignorance and the followers of Seth who envy my success. But I am a fighter and can withstand the evils of Seth.

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