Kaplony, son of a Hungarian military officer, emigrated to Switzerland as a child in December 1944. He became a
Swiss citizen in 1958. He studied
Ancient History,
Egyptology,
Arabic language and
Arabic literature in the
University of Zurich and
University of Basel. He participated in the excavations of the
Sun temple of Userkaf in
Abusir from 1954 until 1957 with a joint Swiss and German team of archeologists. In 1959, he was awarded the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Zurich and, in 1964, his
Habilitation. From 1970 until his retirement in 2000, Kaplony was assistant professor and then professor emeritus of Egyptology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Zurich. His studies were especially focused on the
pre-dynastic and
early dynastic periods of Egypt and he published mostly in German and Swiss research journals. == Publications ==