Hawass Gives Lecture on Pyramids Builders to High-level US Delegation

Renowned Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass lectured about the secrets of the builders of the Pyramids and their tombs' discovery on Tuesday to a high-ranking American delegation during their visit to the Giza archaeological site.

Hawass stressed that the excavation of the builders’ tombs is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th and 21st centuries he has made since 1990.

It also refutes claims that said the pyramids were built by forced labor as these tombs are located directly next to the pyramid and overlook it directly; so if those builders were slaves, they would not have built their tombs in this specific area.

Moreover, he explained that the most important of these tombs is an Edo cemetery, which is a rectangular building with many wells covered with limestone. The walls of the tombs were covered from the outside with a layer of mud-brick and painted with white mortar.

In addition, it reflects part of Ancient Egyptians' beliefs in death and the ascension of the dead's soul.

Contributed by Rana Atef