Secrets from the Sand

Book excerpt: The world's best known Egyptologist uncovers the stories behind his many excavations. Zahi Hawass, familiar to millions from his many television appearances, provides stirring descriptions of his life's work accompanied by many previously unpublished photographs. He takes us from the famous monuments at Giza, where he supervised the restoration of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid and excavated the cemetery of the pyramid builders, to the Valley of the Golden Mummies in Bahariya Oasis. A storyteller par excellence, Dr. Hawass speculates about life in ancient Egypt based on a scientific analysis of excavations conducted by himself or under his supervision. He also spins tales of tomb robbers, explains how he negotiates with local Egyptians whose houses may lie directly above important sites, and describes in exciting detail the experience of entering an ancient tomb for the first time after thousands of years.