Dr Rolf Krauss is a renowned German Egyptologist who – prior to retiring in 2007 – last worked as a researcher at the Berlin Museum of Prehistory and Early History, and as a lecturer at Humboldt University. He has produced a number of important studies into ancient Egyptian chronology and astronomy.
Born in Heidelberg in 1942, Dr Krauss studied at the University of Heidelberg and the Free University of Berlin from 1975 to 1981, gaining his PhD in Egyptology from the latter institution. He went on to work at the Egyptian Museum in the National Museums of the Prussian Cultural Heritage from 1982 to 2001. He additionally worked as a lecturer, first at the University of Hamburg from 1990 to 1993, then at the University of Hamburg from 1993 to 1996, then the Humboldt University in Berlin from 1997-2007, with a brief spell as visiting professor at Basel University from 1998-1999.
He took up his position as a researcher at Berlin Museum of Prehistory and Early History in 2001, spearheading the museum’s scientific-academic examination of ancient Egyptian calendars, a study which sought to determine the exact parameters of Egyptian chronology. Many of his findings were published in the Handbook of Egyptian Chronology.
Despite being retired since 2007, Krauss still writes widely on Egyptology. In one of his most recent articles ‘Why Nefertiti Went to Berlin’ – the cover story of the fall 2008 issue of KMT magazine – he alleged that the greedy deceit of Ludwig Borchadrt, and negligence on the part of Gustave Lefébvre – the then inspector of the Antiquities Inspectorate in Asyut, Egypt – were the principal reasons why the Bust of Nefertiti ended up in Germany.
