Egypt
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Selim Hassan
Mit Naji (Mit Ghamr), Egypt
Archival Overview
Pioneering Egyptian archaeologist who became the first Egyptian professor of Egyptology at Cairo University, directed the epic excavations of the Giza Pyramids and Great Sphinx, and authored the 16-volume 'Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt'.
Biographical Record
Selim Hassan (1886–1961) studied at the Higher Teachers' College in Cairo and earned his doctorate at the University of Vienna. In 1929, breaking the century-old European monopoly over pharaonic archaeology, Hassan was appointed director of excavations at the Giza Necropolis.
Over ten seasons of heroic scientific excavation, Hassan cleared thousands of tons of sand from the Great Sphinx, discovering the temple of Amenhotep II, the Fourth Dynasty royal cemetery, and hundreds of Old Kingdom mastaba tombs, published in his ten-volume masterwork Excavations at Giza. He authored Mawsu'at Misr al-Qadima (Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt) in sixteen volumes, the most comprehensive history of ancient Egypt ever written in the Arabic language.
Key Life Milestones
Complete Excavation of the Great Sphinx
Cleared the Sphinx to bedrock, discovering its original processional causeways and the Dream Stele.
Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (16 Volumes)
Authored the definitive multi-volume scientific history of Pharaonic civilization in Arabic.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialCairo, Egypt