Unraveling the Mystery of Hawara
The Mission Statement of the Mataha-Expedition
Unraveling the Mystery of the Lost Egyptian Labyrinth
For over 2,500 years, the Egyptian Labyrinth remained one of antiquity’s greatest enigmas—described by Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny as a colossal underground complex surpassing even the pyramids in grandeur. Lost beneath the sands of Hawara, its fate remained uncertain until the Mataha Expedition sought to scientifically verify its existence in 2008.
The Mission Statement of the Mataha-Expedition
➤ Challenging Long-Held Assumptions:
Since Flinders Petrie’s 1889 excavation, scholars believed that the labyrinth was completely dismantled in antiquity, its stone quarried away. The Mataha Expedition questioned this theory, proposing instead that what Petrie identified as a foundation could actually be the labyrinth’s roof, as described by Strabo.
➤ Scientific Discovery Over Speculation:
In 2008, a joint team from NRIAG (Egypt), Ghent University (Belgium), and Louis De Cordier’s Foundation conducted the first geophysical survey of the Hawara site using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The scans revealed an extensive underground grid of walls and chambers, contradicting the notion that the labyrinth was entirely destroyed.
➤ Preservation Before It’s Too Late:
The expedition’s findings confirmed that remnants of the labyrinth still endure, but they are in grave danger. Due to rising saline groundwater, accelerated by modern irrigation and the Aswan Dam, the subterranean structure is rapidly deteriorating. Without immediate intervention, its destruction may become irreversible.
➤ Overcoming Suppression & Bureaucratic Barriers:
Despite the expedition’s groundbreaking discoveries, its findings were censored. Shortly after presenting the results at Ghent University in 2008, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), under Dr. Zahi Hawass, ordered an information blackout and blocked further research. The team faced intimidation, and no excavation permits have been granted since.
➤ A Call for Global Awareness & Action:
The Mataha Expedition’s mission is not over. To preserve the labyrinth and uncover its full secrets, international collaboration, scientific transparency, and urgent conservation efforts are needed. The world must not let bureaucracy and neglect erase one of the most profound wonders of human history.
For those interested in the full official results and whitepapers of the Mataha Expedition, follow this link: labyrinthofegypt_com__printversion.pdf > [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YqntaYOhvSWA7fd3jFYToPqx34odntjB/view]