Archaeologica.org

Egypt’s Zahi Hawass, the man who has become synonymous with Egyptology, known for his cowboy had wearing, has sparked the ire of Egyptians in recent days, with protests chanting for him to step down from his post atop the country’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Ironically, as reports of stolen artifacts continues to surface since Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power on Friday, Hawass went public during the demonstrations and declared, triumphantly, that nothing has been stolen from the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo following the break-in on January 28.

“Get out,” chanted a crowd of 150 archaeology graduates outside Hawass’ office on Monday. The protest was highly personal: demonstrators called Hawass a “showman” who seeks publicity and has little regard for the thousands of archaeology students who are unable to find work in their field.