European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse An archaeological dig continues in a cemetery next to the Cheops Pyramid near Cairo dig for knowledge As Well As wealth by Mimi Mann the associated press there a a certain kind of Day in i he egyptian desert when the Sun is High the sky a deep glue the wind whistling Asil skips along Sand dunes. It s a Digger s Day the kind of Day that for 170 years has lured the curious to explore the remnants of history that the desert hides. Englishman Howard curler Egypt s most famous Digger knew Well this kind of Day. For years he meticulously scoured the Valley of the Kings across the Nile from Luxor rive years were in search of one Tomb of one King tutankhamen. He turned tons of dirt before he hit Bedrock. And pay dirt. Nov. 2i, 1022, brought him Tut s Tomb and so much treasure it took 10 years to record. The find blew up a political storm that not Only deprived Carter of his share of the riches but also ended archaeological treasure Hunts in Egypt. Yet diggers still came. Why let Ause ancient Egypt is so glamorous because an estimated to Peri Cut of what was buried still is. Because ancient Egypt is history poses so Many questions laying Lor answers. When Napoleon entered Egypt in i7b8, the Sands of the Sahara and the history they hid were As mysterious As the Depths of the seas and the vast Ness oko Uter space Are today. Egypt s Panorama was littered with i Lues to a logo then world a people and culture As old As time a civilization Long on legend but Short on history. Early diggers i a me Lor treasure and hauled it away few paused to Ponder what it All meant stymied by a language dead Tor More than 2,1100 years. Then in 11122, Frenchman lean Ern Mois Champollion decoded the eurious symbolism of the dead language and i mated egyptology the seem e of Amiens Egypt. Today s diggers not Only have added sounds to hieroglyphic symbols hut Are programming comp Luis to read it in a quest Lor another kind of reasons pm it a let Ige what did the ancients eat for breakfast what Birds flew overhead what wig was appropriate in pharaoh s s presence did ancient egyptians have aids a it i Zahi harass is antiquities director at Egypt s greatest archaeological playground the Giza pyramids. Even 20 years ago when he was a Young Egypt Logist he and his colleagues wondered whether anything remained to be found. Quot now we know there s something under every step he said. Quot we be changed from adventurers to scientists people who understand that wheat seeds can be More of a treasure than two Days before his death last december antiquities chairman Sayed Tawfik spoke of what makes an Egypt Logist dig. His life s Masterwork was an excavation in Sankara a ruin Rich wilderness 17 Miles South of Cairo that reshaped the history of the court of Ramses the great. Quot it you went Hack 150 years you could t write a Good Book about Egypt a Tawfik said. Quot excavation has opened up new chapters in culture philosophy Art history religion. Egyptology has Marie am enl Egypt wonderful for people. It s Given the monuments a history Quot Tawfik said Quot each time we go Down we make history. We re discoverers. It would be difficult to imagine a world without King Tut. He s a household word but without excavation we would t even know he King Tut. A Blessing or a curse Many egyptology its c consider Carter s discovery a curse because what s been found since pales in comparison. And although diggers see treasure in ancient wheal seeds financial backers prefer Glitz. Hut Nicholas Reeves author of the c Opplt to tutankhamen said 1 it s Tomb was a godsend to the science. Quot at the Lime egyptology was in Low ebb Quot Reeves said i com his notice in the British museum. Quot it was impossible to Linance a dig or raise an interest in an Hae Olingy. Quot i he tact is w it bout f it an a Eulogy would still Little interest to the masses. 1 it nit egyptology Ami he of archaeology on the map. It s their yardstick in every Geoffrey Martin of the London based Egypt exploration society has been digging in Sankara for 28 years. He too found a Tomb that of Maya tutankhamen s treasurer. He tells of his search in his Book the hidden tombs of Memphis. Martin his Scarf blowing in the wind outside Maya s Tomb said today s diggers Don t go searching for a Quot Beautiful Quot Tomb. Quot if we find one of but it s not what we re after Quot Martin said. Quot we re searching for people. And no civilization has made such an Impact on the world As the ancient egyptology gave hem a history but each dig adds insights details. Martin Longs to know what remains buried in fhe Memphis Sankara area but he said digging it up would t be fair to future excavators. Quot they la have Ditter enl questions Quot Martin said. Quot would t it he a Dull place if we had to mull Over the same ones Quot in the Early 191 h Century ancient Egypt s history began with Blank pages. Diggers added pharaohs names spells curses weaponry games How to perform brain surgery How to Mumm Ify. Flow much is known it s hard to Tell said Reeves. Quot the longer one studies the subject the less confident he becomes that he understands the ancients Quot Reeves said. Some answers May never come. Egyptology builds on the past and Many Puzzle pieces Are missing. Luxor formerly the ancient capital Thebes in Southern Egypt is said to have housed the world s greatest concentration of history. But Many of its monuments have disappeared. Others still not understood Are crumbling. Egypt s new antiquities chairman Ibrahim Bakr built his career As a Digger but realizes digging is no longer the main tiling. Our greatest Challenge is to maintain and preserve the world s richest heritage Quot he says Quot to keep it alive tin coming generations and their generations to 24 stripes Magazine of Tobor a i 1 a
