Dr. Zahi Hawass
Nothing is ever discovered in Egypt without Dr. Zahi Hawass knowing about it. He is an archaeologist and the former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. When a tomb, coffin, or an artifact was discovered, it didn’t get to the museum until it was studied and observed by Dr. Hawass. Throughout his career, he had seen it all. He is also known as The Real-Life Indiana Jones, and in October 2019, he was working at a dig site not far from the Nile. What he and his team found during the dig left him speechless. It wasn’t until a week later that he received more exciting information. This expedition made his career.
Ancient History
Dr. Hawass received word from the teams that he was overseeing regarding the discovery, and he was very excited. If his assumptions were correct, he believed that he would be able to understand more about Ancient Egyptian history. It all started in 2017 when he and his team arrived in the Valley of Kings, which is a spot off the Nile that was once part of Egypt’s ancient capital city of Thebes.
Luxor
Dr. Hawass and his team were excited about the dig. His team was the largest be to given digging rights in the area, and they were planning to dig in a city called Luxor. They haven’t explore this area since the 1920s. Howard Carter, an archaeologist, was searching the area when he unearthed King Tut’s tomb, and allegedly awakened a curse that killed him and his dog. Because of this, when Dr. Hawass started searching, he knew that there could be much more to find.
The Queen
When Dr. Hawass and his team arrived in the area, they were hoping to uncover an excavated royal tomb. Specifically, he wanted to find the tomb of King Tut’s wife, Queen Ankhesenamun. He knew that a discovery like that would put his name in the history books beside Howard Carter’s. Hers isn’t the only tomb he’s hoping to find. The tombs on his wish list included King Amenhotep I, King Tuthmose II, Rames VIII, and Tut’s mother-in-law, Queen Nefertiti.
Expanding the Search
Several teams arrived at the dig site, and Dr. Hawass oversaw all of the teams. For the next two years, the expedition continued and expanded its reach. They had camps that stretched west into the Valley Of the Monkeys. Finally, they found something.
October 2019
The significant find took place in October 2019. Dr. Hawass headed the team, and they were working in the Valley of the Kings. Even though Dr. Hawass involves in many significant digs over the years, this one left him at a loss for words. He and his team came across what he called an industrial area. It was an Egyptian factory, complete with 30 workshops, and each of the subsections came off one central hub. According to Dr. Hawass, each workshop had a different purpose. Some uses to make pottery and to produce gold artifacts, and some made furniture. The evidence suggests that the factory builts between 1549 BCE to 1292 BCE.
Special Finds
Dr. Hawass and his team found plenty of amazing things. He found water tanks for workers and for houses. They also found some that were used to store clean materials for royal funerals. Up until this point, everything found came from the tombs. Dr. Hawass’ findings shed light on how the objects make that went into the tombs. While Dr. Hawass was going through what they had just found, a team of archaeologists in The Valley of the Monkeys told him about something they had found on accident.
30 Coffins
Dr. Hawass went to the site to see what they found. There were 30 preserved wooden coffins, and they were intact. They all had colorful art and decorations. According to the team, they remained intact because they were hidden and protected by the sand for 2,700 years. The coffins contained hieroglyphs and images that indicated that important people were buried in the coffins. Dr. Hawass believes that they were the coffins of noblemen, priests, and government officials. The mummies inside were perfectly preserved. They were taken to the Grand Egyptian Museum, where they could be studied better. Dr. Hawass hopes that the find will boost Egypt’s tourism industry.
The Find Of His Career
Archaeologists shaken after accidentally unearthing artifacts in perfect condition. For Dr. Hawass, it was the find of his career. He plans to examine each of the coffins thoroughly, hoping that he can figure out who each one belonged to. When he embarked on his search, he never expected to uncover so much of Egypt’s history.
