Controversy erupts as famed Egyptologist faces legal claims
Zahi Hawass is an undisputed authority in archaeology and the world's most famous Egyptologist. The former Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Egypt's Minister of Culture may face serious legal trouble after a hammer damaged a 4,300-year-old sculpture.
Priceless discovery
The hammer incident occurred during excavations in Saqqara. In a small niche of the tomb, the archaeological mission discovered a 53-centimetre statue dating from the 5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (2494 BCE—2345 BCE).
This means the figurine is roughly 4,300 years old. Zahi Hawass himself was responsible for retrieving it from behind a clay wall. Subsequently, disaster struck, as evident in the social media video.
The video caused a significant uproar in Egypt, prompting Mustafa Bakri to address the issue of the "hammer in Hawass's clumsy hands." The Egyptian parliamentarian then submitted an official letter to the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, accusing the Egyptologist of destroying the statue and demanding severe punishment.
- What happened is a crime. With the use of a pickaxe, the renowned archaeologist broke the white, wooden kilt at the lower part of the statue. I remind you that the law on the protection of monuments provides for a prison sentence of up to seven years and a fine of up to one million Egyptian pounds (about 340,000 CAD) for anyone who intentionally destroys, damages a monument, alters its features, or intentionally separates its parts - we read in the letter from the MP to Minister Sherif Fathi.
The archaeologist defends himself
Hawass responded to these accusations in his style.
"I have been working in excavations for 50 years." Hawass stated in a special announcement that accessing the statue was extremely challenging, requiring him to remove stones with great precision. He emphasized that he carried out the work professionally: "Howard Carter destroyed many artifacts while removing Tutankhamun’s mask."
The 77-year-old Egyptologist asserted that Zahi Hawass is widely recognized as the world's leading archaeologist and emphasized that the minor mistake was promptly corrected.
The figurine was restored by a team led by Dr. Ashraf Awis, the General Director of "Saqqara Restoration," and is stored in a local conservation workshop.
Hawass announced he would take legal action against those involved in the campaign defaming his good name.
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