Since he became head of the SupremeCouncilofAntiquities in 2002, Mr Hawass claims to have returned 5, 000 artefacts to Egypt which he says were stolen.
Now, though, that contention is probably lost because the main defender of the Egyptian case, the general secretary of the SupremeCouncilofAntiquities, was fired over corruption allegations.
Both he and the head of the SupremeCouncilofAntiquities, Mustafa Amin, said the pyramid was closed for maintenance after the large number of visitors during the Eid al-Adha holiday last week.