Mummy Man

Dr. Bob Brier has been to Egypt over 100 times, however, mentioning his next trip still fills him with excitement. Dr. Brier is the school’s resident mummy expert, who spent decades studying the field of ancient Egypt.

Dr. Brier, a Senior Research Fellow, which basically means he no longer teaches, but writes and does research, is returning to Egypt in November to follow up on his theory that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built with an internal ramp that is still inside. He plans to do this by asking permission from local authorities, upon his arrival, and plans to bring equipment in with him, such as an infra-red camera or ground penetrating radar to verify his theory. This theory was also the subject in his book, “The Secret of the Great Pyramid,” in 2009.

In addition to conducting “The Great Pyramid” research, Dr. Brier will be leading a 14-day tour of Egypt to the general public who is interested. The tour consists of a slow, detailed walk-through of The Great Pyramid, cocktails with working archaeologists, and a tour of the library at the Chicago House, a major center for Egyptian Studies, according to Farhorizons.com. The tour costs just under $13,000.

The trips Dr. Brier used to take his students on were far more cost efficient. “We used to do it very inexpensively for the students. We would get to go to Egypt for about two and a half weeks for $3, 000,” said Dr. Brier. The first trip was in the 1970s and he conducted trips all the way into the 1990s. The main reason he stopped facilitating these trips was because of his involvement in TV documentaries such as the host of “The Great Egyptians,” the subject of “Mummy Detective,” and narrator of “Unwrapped: The Mysterious World of Mummies,” which are all productions for The Learning Channel

Although he is not currently teaching, Dr. Brier continues to conduct research and write books as a member of the faculty on behalf of the school. He has been at Post for over 40 years, and recently stopped teaching two to three years ago. He has taught seminars about mummies, how to read and write hieroglyphs, and ancient Egyptian philosophy.

Dr. Brier’s last book, “Egyptomania: Our Three Thousand Year Obsession with the Land of the Pharaohs,” explored our culture’s infatuation with Egypt. “Then, I discovered it fascinates everybody. People are more interested in Egypt than any other ancient civilization,” said Brier.

Although Dr. Brier is at the end of his teaching career, he still has thoughts about a future for Egyptology at Post.

“I think an undergraduate program in Egyptology could bring thousands of students from all over the country,” Brier said. This is significant because there are a few graduate Egyptology programs in the U.S., but only seven undergraduate programs according to, Egyptianemporim.com.