Zahi Hawass responds to claims he has damaged ancient statue during excavation work

Egypt Independent

24-02-2025

Members of the Egyptian House of Representatives submitted a request to the Speaker of the House, Hanfy Gebaly, demanding a briefing on the reported destruction of a ancient statue in the Saqqara tourist area and holding the archaeological team at work responsible for it.
This came after a video spread on social media announcing a major archaeological discovery in one of the Saqqara tombs, as this statue dates back to the era of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, approximately 4,300 years ago.
Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass spoke with Al-Masry Al-Youm about the truth behind the incident.
Hawass said that the recently discovered statue was in a closed niche, and as an archaeologist, it was necessary to extract it as part of the mission's work.
'I removed the stones that were around the statue, and some of the gypsum that was around it fell off, along with a small piece of the white kilt that the statue was wearing.'
'We restored the small piece that fell from the statue. The matter is completely over and the statue was not damaged at all,' Hawass assured.
'I have been working in excavations for 50 years,' he explained adding that such things happen during archaeological discoveries.
'Howard Carter destroyed many artifacts while removing Tutankhamun's mask,' Hawass noted.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm