ArchaeoBlog

Egypt Relics Chief Pulls in Revenue as He Fights for Nefertiti

Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt’s antiquities department, promotes his country’s cultural treasures with a showman’s skills and an entrepreneur’s instincts.

His Indiana Jones-style hat and vest and television- documentary appearances put an Egyptian face on Egyptology after two centuries of foreign domination, he says. His goals include recovering icons such as a 3,300-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti from abroad and restoring national pride in Egypt’s relics — even in someone else’s museum.

Some pretty choice quotes in that article, such as this one on his efforts to repatriate some monuments and artifacts: “These are Egyptian monuments. I will make life miserable for anyone who keeps them.”

Of course, all the museums have to do is hold out for ten or fifteen more years until he dies and they’re off the hook.