Sunday, July 11, 2010

Cemetery of the pyramid builders

Asharq Alawsat (Zahi Hawass)

I still consider the discovery of the Cemetery of the Pyramid Builders to be one of the greatest archaeological achievements, and personally speaking this ranks as one of my most precious discoveries. This is because prior to the discovery of the tombs of the workers who build the pyramids on the Giza plateau – the location of the Great Pyramid of King Khufu, which represents the only intact wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as the pyramids of his son Khafre and his grandson Menkuare – I used to find myself continually confronting the Jewish claims that the pyramids were build by Jews who were living in Egypt and who the pharaohs oppressed and used as forced labor to build the pyramids. I would cite the scientific evidence that there was no Jewish community present in Egypt at the time that the pyramids were built, and that monuments as wonderful and beautiful as these could not have been built using forced labor.

1 comment:

Geoff Carter said...

So Herodotus was Jewish - well you learn something new everyday - Thanks Dr Hawass!