Among the casualties of Egypt’s revolution are many of its famous historical sites and artifacts.
Vandalism and looting at these sites skyrocketed in the weeks after the Egyptian police force — including those responsible for tourism and antiquities — vanished from their posts.
Even now, as the security forces resume their duties, archaeologists and experts complain that far more needs to be done by Egypt’s new government to protect the country’s heritage.
Looting Losses
Cairo’s famed Egyptian Museum suffered some of the worst damage. It is home to famous ancient Egyptian artifacts like the golden mask of the boy King Tutankhamen.
Tourists, who are slowly returning, see few signs of the damage and looting that took place at the museum in late January. But the museum’s deputy director, Mahmoud el Halwagi, says it feels like it happened yesterday. The veteran curator cringes when he recounts the events.
The ruling party’s headquarters next door was set ablaze. Thousands of protesters flooded nearby Tahrir Square and clashed with the police. They, in turn, fled. Halwagi says the chaos provided the perfect cover for the thieves and vandals who climbed onto the museum roof.
“The looters were able to come down from this window with a cable, electric cable, and one of them [fell] down on this showcase and it was broken and he was injured,” Halwagi says. “We found his blood on the floor. And it still remains on the artifacts.”
He pauses at another glass display case — one of 13 that had to be replaced, he says.
“This showcase was broken,” he says. “This is a new glass.”
He points to a painted wooden statue inside, one of King Tut astride a leopard. A second one is no longer there, he says.
“I think they thought that this was gold,” he says. “Because it’s gilded wood.”
Frustrated, the thieves smashed it, then continued their search for gold and jewelry inside the museum, Halwagi says. They got none, he adds, because those items were locked behind iron gates the thieves couldn’t break through.
Tourists, who are slowly returning, see few signs of the damage and looting that took place at the museum in late January. But the museum’s deputy director, Mahmoud el Halwagi, says it feels like it happened yesterday. The veteran curator cringes when he recounts the events.
The ruling party’s headquarters next door was set ablaze. Thousands of protesters flooded nearby Tahrir Square and clashed with the police. They, in turn, fled. Halwagi says the chaos provided the perfect cover for the thieves and vandals who climbed onto the museum roof.
“The looters were able to come down from this window with a cable, electric cable, and one of them [fell] down on this showcase and it was broken and he was injured,” Halwagi says. “We found his blood on the floor. And it still remains on the artifacts.”
He pauses at another glass display case — one of 13 that had to be replaced, he says.
“This showcase was broken,” he says. “This is a new glass.”
He points to a painted wooden statue inside, one of King Tut astride a leopard. A second one is no longer there, he says.
“I think they thought that this was gold,” he says. “Because it’s gilded wood.”
Frustrated, the thieves smashed it, then continued their search for gold and jewelry inside the museum, Halwagi says. They got none, he adds, because those items were locked behind iron gates the thieves couldn’t break through.