Even as a small child Christiana Köhler liked digging in the sand, and she is still doing it. For many years this archaeologist has been conducting research in Helwan, a town south of Cairo, where a huge ancient necropolis was uncovered. The findings made there provide evidence of the first territorial state in world history.

Köhler, a keen glider pilot in her free time, focuses her excavations on the common people and shows how the population lived and worked 5,000 years ago. The findings allow for parallels to be drawn with the requirements of modern state structures such as the European Union.

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Christiana Köhler, University of Vienna

Institute of Egyptology

The Helwan Project