National Geographic Explorer, Egyptian Archaeologist

Nora Shawki is a National Geographic Explorer and Egyptian archaeologist who has been excavating ancient sites in the Nile Delta & Sudan for over a decade. Nora has served as a field archaeologist on foreign missions in areas that include Tell Timai (Thmuis), Sa El Hagar (Sais) and Tell Mutubis in Egypt, as well as Tombos and El Kurru in northern Sudan. Her main project focus is currently at the Pyramids of Giza on the AERA (Ancient Egypt Research Associates) team. Nora’s focal point is the settlement area (Heit El Ghurab), which is where the Pyramid builders themselves had resided while constructing the Pyramids. Nora has long experience in geophysical surveying of archaeological sites; especially in densely populated areas in Egypt.

Nora received her undergraduate degree in archaeology at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, followed by her master’s in archaeology at England’s Durham University. Nora is studying settlement archaeology—a subfield focused on the daily lives of ancient communities living in non-elite settlements. Nora was a 2015 National Geographic Young Explorer Grantee and part of the 2017 Young Explorer Leadership and Development Program.