Hawass' problem is that he isn't just an archaeologist - he is also Defender of the Faith in a way. His job is to tie ancient Egypt to modern Egypt. When you consider how many times Egypt has been overrun by so many different cultures since the New Kingdom his position becomes somewhat absurd. I recall him reacting angrily to Robert Schoch's geologically based position that the Sphinx was built thousands of years earlier than the 4th Dynasty. Hawass was literally screaming that "the Sphinx is the soul of Egypt!" So what? No matter who built it it is still sitting a stone's throw from the Nile and is still a major tourist attraction. People who come to see it don't care if it was built by 4th Dynasty Egyptians but he seems to feel the need to give them a nice, coherent, story.... kind of like what bible-thumpers do.
Yeah....people like gold. It's shiny!
Your last point is not true at all, though. There are French, German, British, Polish, American, even Austrian ( Manfred Bietak has been working at Avaris for a generation ) teams. They all operate under agreement with the Antiquities Department. Even the crazy Simcha Jacobovici got permission to film at archaeological sites in Egypt and he's an Orthodox Jew.
Yeah....people like gold. It's shiny!
Your last point is not true at all, though. There are French, German, British, Polish, American, even Austrian ( Manfred Bietak has been working at Avaris for a generation ) teams. They all operate under agreement with the Antiquities Department. Even the crazy Simcha Jacobovici got permission to film at archaeological sites in Egypt and he's an Orthodox Jew.
