Egyptian looting worse than initially feared
Revised list shows 37 objects still missing from national museum after January revolution
Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities last month issued a revised list of objects stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the country’s political uprising, showing looting was more extensive than first reported.
The list revealed that 54 antiquities in total were stolen from the museum on 28 January, of which 17 have since been recovered. A further 70 objects, including two mummified skulls, were damaged when protesters set fire to the nearby headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party.
The report indicates that thieves targeted easily portable, high value artefacts. A bronze trumpet found in Tutankhamen’s tomb and a limestone statue of Akhenaton holding an offering table are among the most significant losses.
According to Egypt’s former minister of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, many Pharaonic sites outside Cairo were also plundered during the uprising.
Hawass said illegal excavations “completely destroyed” a number of tombs, including the Tomb of Ken-Amun in Tell el-Maskhuta, and that armed men targeted storage magazines at Qantara East, Saqqara and Giza. Islamic monuments at Alexandria, Esna and Huseeom were looted as well, he said.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities has been criticised for not publishing the revised list until March, a delay that may have hampered any opportunity to recover the looted artefacts.
The Egyptian Museum is also under fire for what has been described as inadequate record keeping and a lack of emergency planning, with some images and descriptions of missing items too poor to be used for identification purposes.
Meanwhile, Hawass resigned last month citing the army’s failure to stop further looting as his main reason for stepping down. He said: “I cannot stay in Egypt and see antiquities being stolen when I cannot do anything to stop it.”
Hawass also said he was resigning because senior officials have accused him of “stealing antiquities”, a claim he strongly denies.
Hawass’s successor as minister of antiquities has been named as Alaa el-din Shaheen, dean of archaeology at the University of Cairo.
- Bronze trumpet found in Tutankhamen’s tomb
- Limestone statue of Akhenaton holding an offering table
- Striding bronze figure of Nakht
- Unfinished limestone statue of Nefertiti as an offering bearer
- Gilded wooden statue of Menkaret carrying Tutankhamen
- Gilded wooden statue of Tutankhamen wearing the red crown
Click here to see the full list of looted objects (pdf)
The list revealed that 54 antiquities in total were stolen from the museum on 28 January, of which 17 have since been recovered. A further 70 objects, including two mummified skulls, were damaged when protesters set fire to the nearby headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party.
The report indicates that thieves targeted easily portable, high value artefacts. A bronze trumpet found in Tutankhamen’s tomb and a limestone statue of Akhenaton holding an offering table are among the most significant losses.
According to Egypt’s former minister of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, many Pharaonic sites outside Cairo were also plundered during the uprising.
Hawass said illegal excavations “completely destroyed” a number of tombs, including the Tomb of Ken-Amun in Tell el-Maskhuta, and that armed men targeted storage magazines at Qantara East, Saqqara and Giza. Islamic monuments at Alexandria, Esna and Huseeom were looted as well, he said.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities has been criticised for not publishing the revised list until March, a delay that may have hampered any opportunity to recover the looted artefacts.
The Egyptian Museum is also under fire for what has been described as inadequate record keeping and a lack of emergency planning, with some images and descriptions of missing items too poor to be used for identification purposes.
Meanwhile, Hawass resigned last month citing the army’s failure to stop further looting as his main reason for stepping down. He said: “I cannot stay in Egypt and see antiquities being stolen when I cannot do anything to stop it.”
Hawass also said he was resigning because senior officials have accused him of “stealing antiquities”, a claim he strongly denies.
Hawass’s successor as minister of antiquities has been named as Alaa el-din Shaheen, dean of archaeology at the University of Cairo.
Major objects missing from the Egyptian Museum
- Bronze trumpet found in Tutankhamen’s tomb
- Limestone statue of Akhenaton holding an offering table
- Striding bronze figure of Nakht
- Unfinished limestone statue of Nefertiti as an offering bearer
- Gilded wooden statue of Menkaret carrying Tutankhamen
- Gilded wooden statue of Tutankhamen wearing the red crown
Click here to see the full list of looted objects (pdf)