Strata: Indiana Jones: Fashion Icon

A museum exhibit on Hollywood costumes has revealed that Harrison Ford’s famous hat, worn by archaeologist Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, was based on an Australian fedora, modified in two respects: The crown was lowered to emphasize Indy’s face, and the brim was trimmed so that his eyes would be sure to be seen. In the following movies of the Indiana Jones franchise, the fedora was further altered.

That hat has had a major influence on Near Eastern archaeologists. A generation of dig directors has worn variations of it as they sought treasures more mundane than Indiana Jones’s. Zahi Hawass, the face of Egyptian archaeology for many years—most recently having served as Egypt’s Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs—was rarely seen without his iconic hat.