Hawass: ‘The Great Pyramids were not built by slaves’

CAIRO - 9 June 2020: “Linking building the Great Pyramids to slavery is a comical thing to say,” replied Zahi Hawass to some English newspaper commentary.

Famed Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass said that the commentary of the English newspapers that links casting the statue of a slave trader in the river to the pyramids, supposing they were built by forced labor is a ridiculous matter.

Hawass explained that the pyramids were not built by forced labor and that the unveiling of the workers' tombs, which were found under the foot of the pyramids, assures the entire world that the pyramids were not built by forced labor.

Hawass asserted that if the pyramids were built by forced labor, their tombs would not be built next to the pyramids.

Also, preparing the tombs for workers and caring about them in the after-life shows that the pyramids were built by workers who came through the large families in Upper Egypt and the Delta region. These families must have paid the workers and thus they paid taxes, according to Hawass.

Hawass further indicated that forced labor can build huge buildings, but they cannot be creative, and building pyramids is creative. Slaves cannot perform this engineering and scientific miracle.

Hawass added that there is no evidence slaves lived during the era of the pyramid builders. In addition, the “Wadi al-Jarf’ papyrus which illustrates forty workers with their chief refutes this idea completely.

Finally, the veteran archaeologist stated that saying the construction of pyramids was done by slaves is a ridiculous opinion, as the pyramids were built by the pharaohs for the king to become a god in the after-life.