When I've seen him on television programs, some of his comments about ghosts and being haunted by mummies makes me cringe. A friend recently gave me his book, "The Valley of the Golden Mummies." I found Dr. Hawass less irritating in the written format, and the book was educational.

I think it's important to keep in mind that Dr. Hawass is a Muslim, and I feel his religious views colors his perceptions of some of the recent theories regarding the age of the Sphinx and the whereabouts of Nefertiti's mummy.

What I have wondered is this:

Why not do DNA testing on some of these mummies to establish family relationships? We have the mummy of Tut, his infant children, and a lock of hair that belonged to his grandmother Queen Tiye. Why not test the mummy of the "Elderly Woman" against that lock of hair in Tutankhamon's tomb to see if it's Tiye? And since Nefertiti would be grandmother to Tutankhamon's miscarried children, why not test the DNA of the mummy Dr. Joann Fletcher claims is Nefertiti against those children? As well as the mummy recently discovered and speculated to be Ankhsenamon, why can't she be tested as well?

I realize one must use the tissue from the mummies to make these tests, but the technology is improving all the time, so the amount needed also decreases as the accuracy improves.