German experimental archaeologist Dominique Goerlitz has lived under the shadow of one of Egypt’s most controversial archaeological scandals for more than a decade.
In 2013, Egyptian authorities accused him and several others of damaging one of the most important inscriptions inside the Great Pyramid of Giza – the hieroglyphic nameplate of King Khufu that archaeologists used to date the iconic monument.
The controversy exploded into international headlines, triggering criminal investigations, court proceedings and allegations that priceless archaeological evidence had been tampered with and even ‘stolen.’
Nine people were ultimately convicted in the case and sentenced to five years in prison. Goerlitz told the Daily Mail that the allegations destroyed his career, cost him tens of thousands of dollars and left Egyptian colleagues imprisoned.
Now, more than a decade later, he is coming forward with what he says is evidence proving he never damaged the famous Khufu cartouche.
‘We never have looted the pyramids, we never have stolen artifacts,’ Goerlitz said. ‘It’s a completely artificial story.’
He has also shared photographs, official oversight and years of overlooked evidence that prove he was wrongly accused.
At the center of his defense is a 2006 photograph of the cartouche, which Goerlitz said reveals the same marks later used as evidence to convict him.
Pictured are images of the cartouche, showing damage appeared in 2006, years before the researchers entered the Great Pyramid
However, the German researchers have explicitly promoted the idea that the Great Pyramid is older than the conventional 2500 to 2580 BC date tied to the Pharaoh Khufu.
Their theory led many to suggest that they took the ochre samples to prove themselves right.
Egyptian prosecutors accused Goerlitz and his associates of illegally entering restricted chambers inside the Great Pyramid, removing paint and stone samples and smuggling the material out of Egypt for laboratory testing.
In November 2014, a court in Giza sentenced nine people to five years in prison, including Goerlitz, fellow German researcher Stefan Erdmann and six Egyptians accused of helping facilitate the expedition.
The six Egyptians included three employees of the country’s antiquities ministry, as well as two pyramid guards and the director of a travel agency.
The Germans were convicted in absentia after leaving the country, while Egyptian authorities described the incident as a serious violation of the nation’s archaeological heritage.
More than a decade later, however, Goerlitz insists the case was built on a false premise.
The researcher pointed to photographs he says prove the damage investigators blamed on his team already existed years before they entered the chamber.
Pictured is German experimental archaeologist Dominique Goerlitz pointing at where he claimed the samples were taken, feet away from the cartouche
In 2013, Egyptian authorities accused him and several others of damaging one of the most important inscriptions inside the Great Pyramid of Giza – the hieroglyphic nameplate of King Khufu that archaeologists used to date the iconic monument
According to Goerlitz, images taken in 2003 by geologist Robert Schoch show scratches near the famous Khufu cartouche that Egyptian authorities later claimed were created during the 2013 expedition.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Goerlitz compared older and newer photographs side by side. Looking at the comparison, he argued the marks existed years before he entered the chamber. ‘This proves, categorically,’ he said.
Goerlitz further claimed the scratches appeared to have been created using specialized tools.
‘These are very precise tool marks,’ he said. ‘This is not done with a primitive scissor.’
He added: ‘The people who have done these scratches were super professionals. I came up as an amateur.’
The researcher also insists he never took samples from the cartouche itself, saying: ‘I never touched it. We never did this.’
‘I decided it’s better to go four feet further,’ he explained while describing where samples were collected from a nearby area of red ochre.
Egyptian officials disputed those claims and argued that the expedition’s activities inside the pyramid went beyond what had been approved. The disagreement over exactly where samples were taken became one of the central issues in the case.
Egyptian prosecutors accused Goerlitz and his associates of illegally entering restricted chambers inside the Great Pyramid, removing paint and stone samples and smuggling the material out of Egypt for laboratory testing
However, Erdmann echoed Goerlitz’s comments, telling German newspaper Spiegel Science in 2017: ‘We didn’t touch the royal cartouche; it’s sacred to us, too.’
Spiegel Science also reported that Goerlitz and Erdmann had permission to enter the Great Pyramid. The Daily Mail has contacted Erdmann for comment.
In 2014, the German government returned 15 archaeological samples taken from the Great Pyramid to the Egyptian Ambassador in Berlin after Egypt pressed charges against the German researchers for illegally removing them from the country.
A few months later, in December, Goerlitz and Erdmann apologized for the vandalism in a letter addressed to Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, ‘offering to pay compensation for the damage and stressing that they did not mean harm to the pyramid.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Goerlitz recounted how he became involved in the expedition after decades spent conducting experimental archaeology projects around the world.
The German researcher had built a reputation through expeditions using papyrus boats to investigate ancient maritime routes and cultural exchanges between continents.
By 2012, he had completed a PhD and was enjoying what he described as one of the most successful periods of his academic career.
That was when Erdmann approached him with a mystery inside the Great Pyramid.
Erdmann had repeatedly visited the monument and become interested in unusual black deposits visible on granite beams in chambers above the King’s Chamber.
According to Goerlitz, he initially resisted becoming involved.
‘I cannot risk my fresh PhD,’ he recalled thinking after hearing about the proposed investigation.
The researcher said he agreed to participate only after being shown permits from previous expeditions and after personally meeting Egyptian officials responsible for the Giza Plateau.
Among them was a senior Egyptologist and manager of the plateau.
‘This was, for me, the confirmation, not what was written on the paper,’ Goerlitz said. ‘And he was a leading officer of the Supreme Consulate of Antiquity.’
According to Goerlitz, the team’s original objective had nothing to do with the Khufu cartouche.
Instead, they wanted to determine the nature of the black material coating portions of the granite ceiling.
When he climbed into the chamber and examined the deposits with a headlamp, he said he immediately recognized something unusual.
‘I knew I made the most important discovery in my life,’ he said. ‘Iron on the ceiling, on the pyramid.’
Goerlitz became convinced the deposits contained magnetite, a naturally occurring iron oxide.
The finding, he believed, could have implications for longstanding debates about how the pyramids were constructed.
To analyze the material, he said the team collected tiny samples using a geological technique known as flaking.
‘Each sample had a weight of 50 milligrams,’ he said, describing the material as only a few tiny fragments removed for laboratory testing.
Goerlitz insists the work was conducted openly and under official supervision.
‘We were fully under awareness and fully under supervision of the Supreme Consulate of Antiquity,’ he said.
The controversy centers on what happened next.
After collecting samples from the black deposits, Goerlitz said the team had time remaining before they were required to leave the pyramid.
An Egyptian official suggested they use the remaining time to examine red ochre markings in one of the relieving chambers, according to Goerlitz, who said this was not part of the original plan.
Months later, the expedition became the focus of an international scandal.
Goerlitz said a presentation discussing the team’s work was misunderstood by an Egyptian heritage official, who concluded that the researchers had tested the Khufu cartouche.
According to Goerlitz, the situation spiraled out of control.
‘The whole press, also in Germany, but also in the States, jumped on this surfboard on surface accusations against me,’ he said.
Goerlitz recalled being in New York when the story exploded, saying he was in the middle of a presentation at Liberty State House when he was informed that media outlets around the world were accusing him of stealing from the pyramid.
The consequences of the scandal, he said, were severe.
‘It has charged me [$92,000],’ Goerlitz said, referring to legal expenses accumulated during years of court battles and investigations.
He said he lost positions, memberships and professional opportunities.
‘Of course, I was fired from the Explorers Club in Manhattan, from my university, I’m fired from this, and this, and this,’ he said.
What troubles him most, however, is what happened to Egyptian colleagues caught up in the case.
‘The six Egyptians had got a sentence of five years in prison,’ he said. ‘For nothing, nothing at all.’
More than a decade later, Goerlitz said he is still trying to convince people to reconsider what happened inside the Great Pyramid.
‘Nobody is listening to me,’ he said.
Yet he remains adamant that the accusations were wrong.
‘I’m innocent,’ Goerlitz said. ‘We came as friends, we came as scientific colleagues.’
For Goerlitz, the photographs, documents and testimony he has collected over the years all point to the same conclusion.
‘This is a true story,’ he said.
