Kent Weeks's guest appearances

Kent Weeks

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Zahi Hawass

Much of what we've learned over the past half-century about the ancient Egyptians, we've learned from these two archaeologists. They've both made major discoveries and have played a crucial role in protecting the pyramids and burial sites for future generations. Zahi Hawass is a National Geographic explorer, and once oversaw all of antiquities Egyptian government. But beyond that, he has drawn millions of tourists to visit Egypt, with his many books and television documentaries.  He wears a signature hat, and is famous for his outsized personality.  Kent Weeks is a more professorial type.  He is retired now, but for 60 years lived and breathed the life of the Pharaohs.  He created what many consider the most important preservation effort ever undertaken in Egypt: The Theban Mapping Project.  It catalogued every tomb and every shard of pottery unearthed in The Valley of the Kings.  We hear just what motivated each of them to spend their lives unearthing the secrets of a 5,000 year old civilization.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

<p>Much of what we've learned over the past half-century about the ancient Egyptians, we've learned from these two archaeologists. They've both made major discoveries and have played a crucial role in protecting the pyramids and burial sites for future generations. Zahi Hawass is a National Geographic explorer, and once oversaw all of antiquities Egyptian government. But beyond that, he has drawn millions of tourists to visit Egypt, with his many books and television documentaries.  He wears a signature hat, and is famous for his outsized personality.  Kent Weeks is a more professorial type.  He is retired now, but for 60 years lived and breathed the life of the Pharaohs.  He created what many consider the most important preservation effort ever undertaken in Egypt: The Theban Mapping Project.  It catalogued every tomb and every shard of pottery unearthed in The Valley of the Kings.  We hear just what motivated each of them to spend their lives unearthing the secrets of a 5,000 year old civilization.</p><p>(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021</p>

Zahi Hawass and Kent Weeks: Golden Age of the Pharaohs

In 1995, Dr. Kent R. Weeks made one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the century, the tomb of the 50 sons of Pharaoh Rameses II. A vast complex, unseen by human eyes  for over 3,0000 years, it is the largest tomb in Egypt's fabled Valley of the Kings. Kent Weeks was fascinated by ancient Egypt from childhood. He undertook his first field work in Egypt while earning a Master's degree in anthropology at the University of Washington. After conducting a groundbreaking x-ray study of mummies in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, he received his Ph.D. in Egyptology from Yale University. He has worked in the Egyptian collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, taught at the University of California, Berkeley and was Field Director of the University of Chicago's Epigraphic and Architectural Survey at Luxor, Egypt. Since 1988, he has been Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. Having previously explored and documented a group of tombs to the west of the Great Pyramid, Professor Weeks founded the Theban Mapping Project to survey and map the vast complex of tombs and temples on the West Bank of the Nile, across the river from the ancient city of Thebes. His 1995 discovery of the labyrinthine tomb of the sons of Ramesses, full of magnificent artifacts, captivated the world. This podcast was recorded the following year, when Kent Weeks was honored at the Academy of Achievement's Summit in Sun Valley, Idaho.