Naguib Kanawati

Biography

Naguib Kanawati, Professor of Egytpology in the Department of Ancient History and Director of the Ancient Cultures Research Centre, is an Egyptologist with a special interest in the Old Kingdom. He graduated BA in History and Archaeology and MA in Egyptology at the University of Alexandria, Egypt and obtained his PhD in Egyptology from Macquarie University. After six years of teaching Near-Eastern History at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, he came to Macquarie University in 1980 as Lecturer in Egyptology and in 1990 was appointed to a Personal Chair in Egyptology. In 1981 he established the Rundle Foundation for Egyptian Archaeology (now with 600 members) and in 1989 he established the Australian Centre for Egyptology and remains its Director. In 1997 Kanawati was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and in 2003 he received the Centenary Medal "for services to the Australian society and the humanities in the study of archaeology".

Research Interest

Since 1979 to present Kanawati has carried out archaeological fieldwork at a number of important sites in Upper Egypt, including El-Hawawish, El-Hagarsa, El-Hammamiya, Quseir el-Amarna, Deir el-Gebrawi and Deshasha and is currently recording the Cemetery of Meir near Asyut. In more recent years he worked at Giza and the Unis Cemetery at Saqqara and is currently excavating and studying the Teti Cemetery at Saqqara.