Abstract
At the turn of the millennium, Egypt prepared for a vast New Year celebration on the Giza Plateau, amidst rumors about the Masonic symbolism of the planned party. At the same time, Egyptologists were excavating the tombs of the pyramid builders of Giza and billing these as proof that the pyramids were built by Egyptian nationals, not Israelite slaves. Both were topics of fierce local political debate about the external appropriation of Egypt's national monuments. Based on ethnographic research in Giza and Cairo and analysis of popular publications by and about Egyptologists, this article explores the links between Egyptology, Egyptian nationalism, and theories about the labor force that built the pyramids. It shows how debates over pyramid building and conspiracy theories about the millennium celebrations resonate in both the historical context of European imperialism in Egypt and current international political tensions. It examines archaeological accounts of the relationship between the pyramid builders and ancient state building, and the parallels between such accounts and the discipline's contemporary relationship with archaeological labor. It concludes by asking whether Egyptologists, both Egyptian and foreign, have not only a nationalist but also a disciplinary interest in particular narratives of the labor that built the pyramids.
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1.
1 According to Hawass (1997: 43), members of the Egyptian Giza excavation included Mansour Boriak (who, at the time of my own fieldwork, largely supervised the day-to-day excavation work of the tombs of the pyramid builders), as well as Mohsen Kamal, Mohamadouh Taha, Ashref Abdel-Aziz, Noha Abdel-Hafiz, Amani Abdel-Hamied, Abdel-Hamied Kotb, Adel Kamel, Mohamed Salah, and Hasaballa el-Tieb.
2.
2 In fact, while Hawass implies that the tourist's stumbling was what launched the excavations (Hawass, 1997), Hawass and Lehner had already been searching in the area for the remains of the pyramid builders; indeed, Hawass had speculated in his dissertation (Hawass, 1987) about where on the Plateau these tombs might be found. Thus the story about the tourist's fall from her horse should probably be regarded as one of Hawass' standard narrative techniques: his popular archaeology writings are full of stories of people and especially animals (horses and donkeys) falling into holes that turn out to be important archaeological sites (e.g. Hawass, 2000c). It is an effective way of encouraging popular interest in the archaeological record of Egypt, and Hawass is a master at using the media to raise awareness of archaeology issues.
3.
3 The literature is extensive. On the political economy of archaeology in the Middle East, see Meskell (2001, 2005), Mitchell (2002), and the edited volumes by Meskell (1998) and Pollock and Bernbeck (2004). Neil Asher Silberman (e.g. 1989) and Abu El-Haj (e.g. 2001) have written extensively on archaeology and nationalism in the Middle East. Key works and edited volumes on the relationship between archaeology and nationalism include Hodder (2003), Trigger (1984), Kohl and Fawcett (1995), Díaz-Andreu and Champion (1996), and Meskell (1998); and Hamilakis (1996) and Kohl (1998) provide reviews of the literature. On the politics of archaeology and heritage more generally, there are many resources but a few key works include Bond and Gilliam (1994), Breglia (2006), Castañeda (1996), Tunbridge and Ashworth (1996), and the contributions to the volumes edited by McBryde (1985) and by Gathercole and Lowenthal (1989).
4.
4 See also McDowell (1994) and David (1986: 58, 190); but for another perspective, see James (1985: 118—19), who points out that there was not much difference in treatment between conscripted freemen and prisoner-slaves.
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