Mostafa Waziri (, occasionally cited as Mostafa Waziry) is an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

, and the former secretary-general of the

Supreme Council of Antiquities The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA; ) was established in 1994, responsible for the conservation, protection, and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt. From 1994 to 2011, the SCA was a department of the Egyptia ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He received his PhD from

Sohag University Sohag University () is a public university in Egypt. It is located in Sohag, on the eastern bank of the Nile. History Sohag University became an independent university in 2006. Before 2006, it was part, and branch, of South Valley University wh ...

in 2014.

Career

In January 2019 archaeologists led by Waziri working in the Kom Al-Khelgan area of the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

discovered tombs from the

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Secon ...

and burials from the

Naqada II The Gerzeh culture, also called Naqada II, refers to the archaeological stage at Gerzeh (also Girza or Jirzah), a prehistoric Egyptian cemetery located along the west bank of the Nile. The necropolis is named after el-Girzeh, the nearby contem ...

era. The burial site contained the remains of animals,

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s and scarabs carved from

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

, round and oval pots with handles, flint knives, broken and burned pottery. All burials included skulls and skeletons in the bending position and were not very well-preserved. In April 2019, the archaeological mission of the Ministry of Antiquities led by Waziri uncovered a tomb of a nobleman called Toutou and his wife at the Al-Dayabat archaeological site in the

Sohag Governorate Sohag () is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the southern part of the country (Upper Egypt), and covers a stretch of the Nile Valley. Since 1960, its capital has been the city of Sohag. Prior to that, the capital was the city ...

, dating back to the Ptolemaic era. The tomb contained two tiny rooms with two

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

. Besides the well preserved mummies, mummified animals and birds including falcons, eagles, cats, dogs and shrews were also revealed in the tomb. In January 2020, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of the collective graves of senior officials and high clergies of the god

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

in Tuna el-Gebel in Minya. An archaeological mission headed by Waziri reported that 20

and

coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...

s of various shapes and sizes, including five anthropoid sarcophagi made of

and carved with

hieroglyphic Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...

texts, as well as 16 tombs and five well-preserved wooden coffins were unearthed by their team. In February 2023, his team announced the discovery (in May 2022) of what is now called the Waziri Papyrus I, a 16-metre-long

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

text in the

Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...

tradition, found in the coffin of a man named Ahmose. The scroll dates to 350-300 BC and contains 113 spells. It is "considered the largest and most complete papyrus in hieratic script discovered in the Saqqara necropolis." "The name of its owner, Ahmose, is mentioned around 260 times in a hieratic inscription and includes 113 chapters from the Book of the Dead. The text is also supplemented with various depictions and representations such as a scene showing Ahmose worshiping the god of the netherworld

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

in his shrine." It is now kept at the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

in Tahrir. In March 2023, Waziri was part of the announcement of finding the North Facing Corridor behind the original entrance of the Great Pyramid of Giza,Scientists discover hidden corridor in Pyramid of Giza through cosmic-ray muon radiography

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

ABC News Online ABC News, also known as ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The service covers both local and world affairs, broadcasting both nationally as ABC News, and across the Asia- ...

, 2023-03-03 by the ScanPyramids team. Precise characterization of a corridor-shaped structure in Khufu’s Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons, Sébastien Procureur, Kunihiro Morishima, et al,

Nature (magazine) ''Nature'' is a British weekly scientific journal founded and based in London, England. As a multidisciplinary publication, ''Nature'' features peer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and technology. It ...

, DOIbr>
2023-03-02 In July 2023, Waziri was one of the Egyptian archaeologists featured in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''Unknown: The Lost Pyramid'', alongside his mentor

Dr. Zahi Hawass Zahi Abass Hawass (; born May 28, 1947) is an Egyptians, Egyptian archaeology, archaeologist, Egyptology, Egyptologist, and former Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, a position he held twice. He has ...

. This film documents the 2022 archaeology season in Saqqara.

Media Appearances

In July 2023, Waziri was featured in the Netflix documentary *Unknown: The Lost Pyramid*, directed by Max Salomon. The film documents Waziri's archaeological work in Saqqara alongside his mentor,

Zahi Hawass Zahi Abass Hawass (; born May 28, 1947) is an Egyptians, Egyptian archaeology, archaeologist, Egyptology, Egyptologist, and former Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, a position he held twice. He has ...

. It showcases their efforts to uncover ancient Egyptian secrets during the 2022 excavation season, with Waziri leading the search for an undiscovered tomb and Hawass focused on finding a lost pyramid. The documentary featured a skilled crew, including Directors of Photography James Mills, Paul Kirsop, and Jason Lee Wong. In 2024, the film was nominated for an **Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography in a Documentary**, recognizing the exceptional work of the cinematography team.

References

External links

YouTube interview
- "Interview du Dr. Mostafa Waziri - juin 2018 - Dans les locaux du ministère des antiquités" (in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Waziri, Mostafa Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Egyptian archaeologists 21st-century archaeologists 1967 births