The bust of Kazimierz Michałowski in Cairo

Even in ancient times, Egypt held a fascination with its aura of uniqueness, the legacy of a civilisation spanning several thousand years, and the legend of a vast store of hidden and arcane knowledge. On the other hand, it was not all that distant as a stage for world history, thanks to the famous Library of Alexandria (one of the main intellectual centres of that era) and the Roman conquest (who hasn’t heard of Cleopatra’s affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony?). In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, Egypt was not forgotten, although interest in it was sometimes rather eccentric (e.g. powdered mummies as medicine or an aphrodisiac).

Perceptions of Egypt changed towards the end of the modern era, when ‘Egyptomania’ – the fascination with the culture of ancient Egypt that continues to this day – became firmly established in our minds. It emerged thanks to scientific discoveries in the 18th and 19th centuries and Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt (1798–1801).

At first, it was the preserve of aristocrats, who, out of passion, became amateur researchers. Then, with the birth of modern tourism, it became the preserve of sightseers. Later, it became the subject of research for the fledgling discipline of modern archaeology. It took on a new dimension when states began to compete through sponsored archaeologists: to see who could uncover more valuable artefacts. Just as space exploration benefited from the Cold War, so Egyptology flourished at a time when excavations were carried out not only for the sake of science, but also for the glory of a ruler or the homeland.

Conducting one’s own excavations in Egypt became a sui generis measure of a country’s cultural standing. The Republic of Poland, reborn in 1918, joined this race late for obvious reasons, but to this day remains a country of significance in the history and present of Egyptology. Although the Poles were represented at the dawn of Egyptology by Jan Potocki (1761–1815), Kazimierz Michałowski (1901–1981) remains the unrivalled figure amongst our compatriots.

Commemoration of Kazimierz Michałowski in Cairo

During the opening ceremony on 28 March 2000 in Cairo for the 8th International Congress of Egyptologists, the Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, presented seven honorary medals to the most distinguished Egyptian and foreign Egyptologists – three of which were awarded posthumously, including one to Kazimierz Michałowski.

In 2007, during the celebrations marking the 70thth anniversary of Polish archaeological work in Egypt, the Egyptian side proposed placing a bust of the Polish scholar in the gardens of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, amongst the world’s most distinguished Egyptologists. It was unveiled on 21 October 2007, accompanied by a commemorative publication and an exhibition at the museum.

Let us therefore explore the story of how Kazimierz Michałowski became interested in archaeology, went on to become an eminent Egyptologist and founded a new branch of archaeology – Nubian studies.

Kazimierz Michałowski’s youth and early career

Kazimierz Józef Marian Michałowski was a world-renowned scholar. He was born on 14 December 1901 in Tarnopol (now in Ukraine). After completing secondary school in his hometown of Tarnopol (1918), he joined the re-established Polish Army. In the autumn of 1919, he was granted a three-month leave of absence to commence his studies at the Faculty of Philosophy (he first set foot on the university campus in uniform). He returned to the army at the beginning of 1920 and resumed his studies in January 1921.

History called upon him once more in 1939, when, as a lieutenant, he fought in the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Vilnius Legions (for which he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari). In the prisoner-of-war camp, he lectured his fellow prisoners on the basics of archaeology and Egyptology as the ‘rector’ of the informal ‘University of Woldenberg’, which offered courses in over a dozen disciplines.

Founder of the Polish school of Mediterranean archaeology

He graduated in art history and philosophy from the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv. It was then that he chose Mediterranean archaeology, out of curiosity about the world and for patriotic reasons. He knew, in fact, that this discipline did not yet exist in Poland, and was one of the hallmarks of highly developed nations.

He went abroad to broaden his knowledge, after which he returned to Lviv (PhD in philosophy, 1926), and subsequently joined the University of Warsaw. It was here, in 1930, that he established the Department of Mediterranean Archaeology, a discipline integrating classical archaeology with Egyptology. This was an innovative approach: the creation of an interdisciplinary team of specialists from various fields made it possible to carry out archaeological and conservation work simultaneously, covering a broad spectrum of evidence from the past. Thanks to his participation in French excavations at Delphi, Thasos and Delos, he wrote his postdoctoral thesis, and its publication established him among the world’s leading archaeologists.

Professor Kazimierz Michałowski – Poland’s Indiana Jones in Egypt

During the rest of his distinguished career, he led excavations in, amongst other places, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, the Crimea, Sudan and Syria. However, he used to say of his work in Egypt: “Poland cannot afford not to conduct excavations in that country (…). Poland cannot afford to dig just anywhere.”

Kazimierz Michałowski’s life’s work is the Faras Gallery at the National Museum in Warsaw, which bears his name – one of the world’s largest exhibitions of Christian Nubian art. The Gallery’s extensive collection includes, amongst other things, paintings and architectural elements from the Cathedral of Faras (8th century), discovered between 1960 and 1964 by a Polish archaeological mission led by Kazimierz Michałowski. The excavation site was submerged by the waters of Lake Nasser following the completion of the Aswan High Dam in the Nile Valley.

A testament to the international recognition of Michałowski’s work was his appointment as chair of the International Committee of Experts for the Rescue of the Rock-Cut Temples of Abu Simbel (1961–1970), which was established by UNESCO in connection with the planned construction of the Aswan High Dam (1970) and the flooding of vast areas around the Nile.

Kazimierz Michałowski’s excavations and Nubian studies

Kazimierz Michałowski was also an active populariser of archaeology and Egyptology; amongst other things, he organised exhibitions, authored and translated popular science publications, and served as a consultant on Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s film *Pharaoh* (1966). He left behind a large group of students, thanks to whom Polish archaeology continues to flourish to this day. He established a new field, Nubian studies (concerning ancient Nubia, now Sudan) – to this day, it has borne such rich fruit that even the Professor himself could hardly have foreseen it.

Kazimierz Michałowski’s modesty and kindness towards everyone, including the labourers working on the excavations, have become legendary. When he greeted them with a handshake, he shocked most foreigners – who, so to speak, adopted a colonial attitude.

After the war, although devastated by the sight of Warsaw in ruins (which reminded him of the not-yet-fully-unearthed ruins of some ancient city), he did not accept the professorship offered to him in Paris, but actively threw himself into the task of rebuilding Polish culture and scholarship.

He was deputy director of the National Museum in Warsaw, where he established the Faras Gallery, which opened in 1972. At the University of Warsaw, he served as vice-chancellor. He also secured the opening of the University of Warsaw’s Mediterranean Archaeology Station in Cairo, which he headed until the end of his life.

Professor Michałowski died on 1 January 1981 in Warsaw, and his grave is in Brwinów.