King Tut's mummy will not be moved for examination
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The mummy of the ancient King Tutankhamun will not be removed from its tomb in the southern city of Luxor for examination and restoration due to local opposition, Egypt's chief archaeologist told parliament Monday.
Zahi Hawass, the head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, told the parliamentary committee of culture and tourism that he decided against the move "out of respect for the sentiments of the people of Luxor," Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported.

Hawass could not be immediately reached for comment.

Antiquities officials plan to X-ray the 3,300-year-old mummy to assess the need for restoration and also to attempt to discover the cause of the early death of Tutankhamum, who ruled for nine years before dying at age 17.

Hawass, who first floated the idea of examining and restoring the mummy, initially suggested it would have to be transferred to Cairo. He later said the mummy, which consists of scattered bones, would be examined before a decision was made about moving it.

But the plan immediately raised angry opposition in Luxor, site of numerous pharaohs' tombs and massive temple complexes.

Opponents said the removal will be a blow to local tourism and was also a violation of religious rites forbidding the removal of bodies from their tombs.

Luxor lawmaker Baha Abu al-Hamad Othman told The Associated Press that he had filed an urgent appeal to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to stop the transfer of the mummy to Cairo.

The parliamentary committee - made up of Hawass and officials from the culture and interior ministries - convened Monday to discuss his appeal.

Hawass told the committee a team of 60 Egyptian archeologists will perform the examination - the X-ray by a German CT scan machine donated by Siemens and National Geographic - and carry out the restoration work. No foreign experts will be on the team, MENA quoted him as saying.

Othman said he doubted the real intentions behind wanting to further examine the mummy.

It's getting very difficult to understand all the reasons behind this kind of decisions...the only thing I may say is that DOUBTLESS all the mummies HAVE to be checked. Most of them are no more laying in the same situation they stayed in for thousend years and the chance that they can get ruined and become just dust in one day, is not so difficult to happen.
They should leave political matters at home. I can understand the fact that they all wish to have egyptian teams to take care of these immense treasures, but I do think that these do not belong only to Egypian People, but to the entire world. Now, it can be easily understood that their main idea is to relay only to egyptians, leaving aside all other experts just because their are from abroad. This is not serious, nor scientific in any way. They should have, as their main goal, the wellness of all mummies and rests and artifacts and tombs and temples belonging to Ancient Egypt! This is due to those who are coming in this world after us and the respct we HAVE to give to this ancient and great egypt!

that I'm the least bit surprised!
I checked out one of his new book's at the library and he appear's (unfortunately, to be full of himself). They have their own rule's over there; if you know what I mean? We can rest assured if they have a secret they will most likely keep the wealth.

Talking about Hawass....always on the Egyptian Gazette sat.27 nov.04.
This is what I further found...enjoy!


The ancient Egyptians are back in the headlines, thanks to the exhibits held in Paris and Bonn. But concerns over the security and safety of our heritage have also re-surfaced.
More importantly, however, is the issue of who exactly has the right to decide the fate of our heritage, the opposition daily newspaper Al-Wafd said.
It was Dr Salih Bedeir, dean of the Medicine Faculty at Ain Shams University, who decided to have Tutankhamoun's body inspected Ð again Ð to determine whether cause of death was murder or accident.
Dr Bedeir said that despite the sophisticated equipment that is being used for the investigation, the findings would still be inconclusive.
Asked whether using the equipment would mean that the mummy need not be lifted out of the sarcophagus, Dr Bedeir said that no one knew if there was a mummy in the sarcophagus or not,
Nor was anyone certain about the condition of this mummy, he said.
When Howard Carter discovered the tomb in 1923, knives were used to cut away the outer layers of the mummy, which contained jewellery, Dr Bedeir said.
"In the process, the bone became fragile and the head was split from the body. Carter tried to glue it back on," Dr Bedeir explained.
In 1966, an archaeologist pierced the skull with a metal spike to inspect the interior.
Dr Bedeir voiced concern about the current state of the mummy, as he did not want to open the sarcophagus as, he said, this might cause further damage.
Dr Zahi Hawas, secretary general of the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA), told the newspaper that after consulting the council's panel of 60 experts on sending Tutankhamoun's remains abroad, he decided not to allow the mummy to leave the country.
Dr Hawas added that since he became SCA chief, fewer antiquities have been ruined by examinations abroad. He said he had put tighter conditions on teams of foreign scientists who want to inspect our antiquities.
Previous directors allowed foreign teams to take samples from the mummies of Pharaoh's and even damage the Karnak Temple.
As for who decides whether certain items should be sent abroad for exhibitions, Dr Hawas said various committees were in charge of this aspect and that a special committee is set up to negotiate the terms of the exhibition, which have been approved by other panels of experts. "Moreover, we are considering the establishment of a permanent committee to increase our revenues and re-invest the receipt from exhibitions into restoration work.
Asked if it was true that more antiquities were going missing and ending up abroad, Dr Hawas said the fact that more relics are being returned to the SCA or the Ministry of Culture give that impression. "However, the level of co-operation from foreign authorities has been increasing," he said.
Dr Hawas said that Egypt cannot claim the right to have allegedly stolen pieces returned unless it can furnish documentary proof of theft. "Auctions abroad, which often put stolen artefacts under the hammer, have been cooperating with us. However, they will sell the items if we do not submit the necessary paperwork within a specified time," Dr Hawas explained.

You see? we are lucky: sometimes hawass even explain his reasons!!!
cia'