Hawass Dig Days - When Seth won

Al Ahram Weekly (Zahi Hawass)

I believe that we have great people in Egypt who can achieve remarkable things. They are intelligent, talented and have vision, but they are continually fighting the followers of the god Seth, the ancient Egyptian "devil" god. The followers of Seth are the enemies of success. They try to destroy these magnificent people.

One of these great people is the artist Mahmoud Mabrouk, who is one of the most talented of sculptors. Mabrouk is a modest man whose creativity knows no bounds; he is polite and dignified and has a wonderful personality. During a tour of the Egyptian Museum with former First Lady Mrs Barbara Bush and Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, I showed them King Tut's beautiful golden coffin, which weighs about 116 kilogrammes. While I was explaining it, Mrs Mubarak remarked that no one could do this today. I said: "Only one person can do this type of craftsmanship today -- Mabrouk!"

In 1987 a chunk of the Sphinx's left shoulder fell off. The entire world was shocked and astonished, and we knew that it was imperative that we restore the Sphinx. When we began our campaign scientifically to restore the monument we formed a team, which included the best archaeologists and architects with Mabrouk and Adam Henein as the sculptors.