Labib Habachi (لبيب حبشي; April 18, 1906 – February 18, 1984) was an Egyptian

egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

. Dr. Habachi spent 30 years in the Antiquities Department of the Egyptian Government, ending his career as Chief inspector. During this period he spent an enormous amount of time in numerous dig sites in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. He left government work to accept a position at the Oriental Institute of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

as an Archaeological Consultant to its Nubian Expedition.

Tell el-Dab'a

Born to a Coptic family, between 1929 and 1939, Pierre Montet excavated at

Tanis Tanis ( ; ; ) or San al-Hagar (; ; ; or or ; ) is the Greek name for ancient Egyptian ''ḏꜥn.t'', an important archaeological site in the northeastern Nile Delta of ancient Egypt, Egypt, and the location of a city of the same name. Tanis ...

, finding the royal necropolis of the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Dynasties — the finds there almost equalled that of

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

's tomb in the

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and power ...

. He believed that he found the location of

Avaris Avaris (Egyptian: ḥw.t wꜥr.t, sometimes ''hut-waret''; ; ; ) was the Hyksos capital of Egypt located at the modern site of Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta. As the main course of the Nile migrated eastward, its po ...

, and this opinion was widely accepted at the time. Yet Habachi was not convinced. In 1941-42 he worked at

Tell el-Dab'a Tell el-Dab'a is the modern name for the ancient city of Avaris, an archaeological site in the Nile Delta region of Egypt where the capital city of the Hyksos, once stood. Avaris was occupied by Asiatics from the end of the 12th through the 1 ...

for the Egyptian Antiquities Service and came to the conclusion that this was in fact Avaris.

Works (selection)

*"Khata'na-Qantir: importance". ''Annales du Service des antiquités de l'Egypte'', LII(1) (1952), p. 443-562 *''Tell Basta''. SASAE, cahier 22. Cairo, 1957 *with Henry Riad: ''Aswan: the town with a glorious past and a promising future''. Cairo, 1959 *''Features of the deification of Ramesses II''. ADAIK, 5. Glückstadt, 1969 *''The second Stela of Kamose and his struggle against the Hyksos ruler and his capital''. ADAIK, 8. Glückstadt, 1972 *''The Obelisks of Egypt: Skyscrapers of the Past''. Scribner's Sons, 1977 *with Pierre Anus: ''Le tombeau de Naÿ à Gournet Marʻeï (no. 271)''. Cairo, 1977 *''Sixteen studies on lower Nubia''. SASAE, cahier 23. Cairo, 1981 *''Elephantine IV. The sanctuary of Heqaib'' (2 vols.). ADAIK, 33. Mainz, 1985 *''Studies on the Middle Kingdom''. Studia Aegyptiaca, 10. Budapest, 1987 *with Zakī Tāwaḍrūs: في صحراء العرب والأديرة الشرقية. الحلقة الأولى. في الآثار الشرقية / تأليف لبيب حبشي، زكي تاوضروس (''Fī ṣaḥrāʼ al-ʻArab wa-al-adyirah al-sharqīyah: al-ḥalqah al-úlá fī al-āthār al-Qibṭīyah''). Maktabat Madbūlī (Cairo), 1993 Full bibliography in J. Kamil, ''Labib Habachi''.

Decorations and awards

*1953 Member of the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office, Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Status, tasks and ...

*1964 Member of the Institut d'Égypte *1965 the Egyptology Institute of

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in Prague *1983 Honorary Member of the Société Française d'Egypte. *Egyptian state award and a medal for the first class in the humanities and natural sciences, *1959

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

*1966 Honorary doctorate from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

*1973 Order of Merit of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France) *1978 Honorary President of the International Association of Coptic Studies *1980

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

*1981 recipient of ''Festschrift'' (MDAIK 37), presented at the German Archaeological Institute

Notes

References

*Kamil, Jill: ''Labib Habachi: The Life and legacy of an Egyptologist''. American University in Cairo Press, (2007). . . . {{DEFAULTSORT:Habachi, Labib 1906 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Egyptian archaeologists People from Mansoura, Egypt Egyptian Egyptologists Egyptian Copts Cairo University alumni Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Avaris