Check Seti I Tomb’s Pre-discovery Secrets

By: Ali Abu Dashish and Maydaa Abo El-Nadar

CAIRO, Dec. 31 (SEE)- Egyptian civilization is full of mysteries, especially at the moment of discovery. This is why the scientific excavations are the only way to uncover the civilization’s enigmas.

Speaking about this theme, Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass said, “When I was working in the Valley of the Kings in 1974, along with several Egyptian archaeologists, we were around 30 inspectors accompanying the foreign missions. We were gathering at a hotel owned by El-Sheikh Abdel Rasol, the last member of Abdel Rasol’s family who knew the Valley’s secrets. I sat next to El-Sheikh and he was telling me stories famous people who discovered tombs at the Valley.”

El-Sheikh went on narrating “There was tunnel or a passage and it is believed that Seti I’s original tomb is found at the end of the passage. I managed to get permission from the Department of Antiquities to dig a tunnel. The minister in charge accepted as he believed we could reveal an important discovery in the tomb. The minister paid the expenses and one hundred meters were dug.” Afterwards, out of being afraid of the tomb’s collapsing, officials at the Department of Antiquities decided to stop the project.

El-Sheikh asked Hawass to continue with digging, as the former felt that the later is going to be an archaeologist one day. El-Sheikh told Hawass “When you reveal an important discovery, just mention my story with the passage. Tell that I am the one who guided you to find it, because I totally believe that the original burial chamber is encountered at the end of the passage.”

Till he became the Department of Antiquities’ General Secretary, Hawass was thinking about El-Sheikh’s words. This is why the Egyptian archaeologist headed to Luxor, entered the tunnel where he reached 222 feet. When the tunnel started to get narrower, and the stones were falling from above, Hawass started to exit. He entered once more with an American TV channel from Los Angeles accompanied by the producer David Jaxon.

Jaxon competed for the Emmy Award, a famous TV award for documentary films. In this regard Hawass mentioned “The arbitration committee found that Jaxon deserved the award, and that I did deserve it too. I recall the moment I received the award, I did not believe it because I did not expect it at all. I think I am the only one who is neither a director nor a producer to receive the Emmy, the most prestigious US TV award. This is why I am very proud of the award.”

Hawass expressed “After this award, I thought about the importance of digging at the tunnel, I was thinking a lot. I knew there was a risk against the tomb. Thus, studying the geological nature of the tomb’s rock was very important. We also had to find a way to prevent the passage’s roof from falling, bearing in mind that the passage’s entrance is supported by wood, which is not enough to protect the tomb during the excavation process.

He concluded “At the end we decided to start the excavation process and reveal the secrets of Seti I’s tomb.”