CAIRO: The date in which the Pyramid of Cheops in Giza was built can't be determined, an archeological committee said Sunday. The announcement was in response to calls to mark Aug. 23 as the date in which the great pyramid was completed. The archaeological scientific committee said that there is no scientific evidence to indicate that the Pyramid of Cheops was built on Aug. 23. The date was initially chosen by the Giza governorate to be its national holiday. The committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and was attended by eight archaeologists. To decide such a date, a lot of research is needed and the process would take a very long time, according to the committee members. According to a statement by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Hawass will discuss with Giza Governor Sayed Abdel-Aziz another date for the governorate's national holiday based on an important archaeological discovery in Giza. Hawass had asked the governor to put his announcement of the Aug. 23 national holiday on hold, until the dating procedure is completed. The council discussed the matter with Abdel Halim Nour Al-Din, hieroglyphs professor at Cairo University, who was referred to by Abdel-Aziz when he chose Aug. 23. Hawass said that dating pyramid is a national and scientific issue and should not be questioned. At the time, some archaeologists said it is difficult to determine the season the pyramid was built in, let alone the exact date. Mamdouh Damati, former director of the Egyptian Museum, said trying to determine the date the pyramid was built is a "joke. Kamal Wahid, general director of the Giza necropolis, explained that "there is no scientific evidence to determine the date the pyramid was built, pointing out that choosing Aug. 23 "is based on incorrect evidence.
