Newswise — If Indiana Jones and Malibu Barbie had a love child, it’d be University of Alabama at Birmingham professor Sarah Parcak, Ph.D.
The petite, blonde Egyptologist with an Ivy League pedigree and iPhone address book filled with Egypt’s Who’s Who is doing what Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg could only pretend to do: she’s discovering lost worlds in Egypt.
Thirty years ago, on June 12, 1981, the first Indiana Jones movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” hit the big screen and gave the world a front-row seat into the world of archaeology. But it seems almost yesterday when we raced with Indy out of the cave just steps in front of the giant boulder, averted our eyes so our faces wouldn't melt and left the theater humming that iconic music.
Ah, but alas. It was only make believe. This week, UAB pays homage to Parcak who is no actress; she’s the real deal.
Parcak recently made international news when she and her team used infrared technology to identify 17 lost pyramids and hundreds of tombs and ancient settlements in Egypt, many of which had been hidden for thousands of years.
Instead of wearing a fedora and wielding a whip, Parcak uses NASA and commercial satellites along with high resolution images to unlock the mysteries of Egypt. The satellites record light radiation that is reflected off of the surface of the earth and reveal what lies beneath the dirt, sand and vegetation. “All of a sudden, this invisible world became visible,” Parcak said, noting that she is now working with a team of French archaeologists to begin confirming her discoveries on ground.
Parcak was recently featured in a BBC documentary, “Egypt’s Lost Cities,” that showed her ground-breaking (pun, intended) journey. Soon, she will be the center of another documentary on The Discovery Channel (stay tuned on the UAB News site for details).
Parcak credits Zahi Hawass, Ph.D., Egypt’s Minister of State for Antiquities, who has been instrumental in allowing her to do her work, she said. She has also been tapped to work with the Egyptian government to help train up-and-coming archeologists to use the satellite technology to make even more discoveries.
“This only hints at the possibilities of more discoveries,” she said. “I am excited for the generations to come and what they will uncover.”
Who knows. Perhaps someone will find the ark of the covenant, using a eye in the heavens.
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