Kazimierz Michałowski

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kazimierz Michałowski (b. November 11, 1901 in Tarnopol - January 1, 1981 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish archeologist and Egyptologist, and the founder of Nubiology.

Michałowski studied classical archaeology and art history at the University of Lwów; he studied at the Universities and Archaeological Institutes of Berlin, Heidelberg, Munster, Paris, Rome, Athens and Cairo. In 1939-1981 he acted as the Vice-director of the National Museum in Warsaw and headed the chair of classical archaeology at the University of Warsaw. During this time he educated a solid group of specialists in classical, Near Eastern and Egyptian archaeology.

Michałowski's interest in Egyptology began in 1937-1939, when he took part in Polish-French excavations at Tell Edfu (see Edfu), organized by him, and published later in three volumes. Objects from Edfu enriched the collections of the Warsaw National Museum. After World War II he participated very actively in the reconstruction of Polish academic life and in building Polish participation in the international program of studies on Mediterranean cultures. In 1959 he founded in Cairo the Polish Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology, now named after him. He was a specialist in many areas of Egyptian art and archaeology.

Michałowski directed Polish excavations at many sites, including Tell Atrib from 1957, Alexandria from 1960, Dabod 1961, Faras 1961-1964, Deir el-Bahari from 1961 and Dongola from 1964. In 1963-1971 he presided over the International Committee of Experts for Rescue of the Abu Simbel Temple. His publications included the famous L'Art de l'ancienne Egypte (English-language version: Art of Ancient Egypt, 1968).