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Tut’s Treasures Looted

With the world’s focus on civil unrest in Egypt, one aspect of the turmoil that will be of particular interest to TDG readers is the safety of the country’s priceless antiquities and monuments. Unfortunately, news has emerged that the Cairo Museum has been broken into, and a number of treasures have been either looted or vandalised – including those of Tutankhamun.

Egyptologist Margaret Maitland has kept a close eye on video reports from Al Jazeera and with help from others has documented the possible damages and losses in a series of updates at The Eloquent Peasant. These include t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶u̶m̶m̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶u̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶g̶r̶e̶a̶t̶-̶g̶r̶a̶n̶d̶p̶a̶r̶e̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶Y̶u̶y̶a̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶T̶j̶u̶y̶a̶ (not so, according to this update from Alan Boyle), a 4000-year-old wooden boat, a number of priceless statuettes of Tutankhamun, and also one of Tut’s ceremonial fans.

The current ‘Pharaoh’ of Egyptian archaeology, Dr Zahi Hawass, has also posted a blog on his website with an update on the situation (via fax to Europe, as the internet has been shut down in Egypt), saying his “heart is broken” and his “blood is boiling.” You can also find further information about the museum damage at MSNBC’s Cosmic Log. Let’s hope that the current reports give the full extent of the losses, and it’s not discovered later that someone has filled their boots and things are being covered up.

Maitland notes that Wafaa el-Saddik, former director of the Egyptian Museum, has said in an interview that the looting of the museum was an inside job by guards and police. I’ve also seen rumours on Twitter that the vandalism was done by the Mubarek regime as propaganda against the protesters, but I have seen no actual evidence of that as yet. In more positive news, a number of reports have mentioned that young Egyptians are banding together to help protect various museums and monuments around the country that have not yet been given an official guard.

On a sidenote, one wonders what this damage will mean for the ongoing quest by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) to repatriate archaeological treasures in museums around the world. It would be highly likely that these museums, obviously unwilling to let go of priceless Egyptian artefacts, will now put forward the defence that it’s not safe to send them back to their country of origin. Although, to be fair, Berlin Museum – which currently holds the famous bust of Nefertiti – might be hard-pressed to use that argument in their favour…

Another question yet to be answered is what a change of government might mean for Zahi Hawass. Just over a year ago Dr Hawass was installed by President Mubarek as Vice Minister for Culture, in an apparent circumvention of his forced (mandatory) retirement as head of the SCA. He is also a noted sycophant to the current regime:

I would also like to say how grateful I am to President Mubarak. He is a unique man, who has given a lot to his country. He has been in public service for years and I have not once seen him make a decision just for himself. Everything he does, he does for Egypt. His wife, Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, I feel deserves a Nobel Prize for the work she has done for peace.

From comments I’ve seen, and emails I’ve received over the years, I think a substantial portion of the archaeological community wouldn’t mind a sea change in Egyptian archaeology.

Update: For ongoing news, see the Egyptologists for Egypt Facebook page.

Previously on TDG:

Editor
  1. Who cares??
    As any person who has a passion for history and archeology, I do worry about the threat of the Egyptian’s historical inheritance, yet another part of me thinks “so what?”. Why should we care more about the fate of an ancient dude’s loot, when currently living people are struggling –and dying– for their social rights?

    Furthermore the cynical part of me thinks that the only thing we care about Tutankamon is a)because he was rich, and b)because he lived 3000 years ago.

    Meanwhile there’s reason to believe that the looting was performed by the museum guardians and the Egyptian secret police, as a way to prevent the rioters to gain global support:

    Zeit Online (in German and translated into English) has posted an interview with Wafaa el-Saddik, the director of the Egyptian Museum up until very recently, who says that 13 cases have been smashed, some objects have definitely been stolen, the looting of the museum was an inside job by guards and police, and that the museum in Memphis has also been looted.

    [H/T to Rick]

    My thoughts and prayers are with my Egyptian brothers & sisters.

  2. Zahi Zahi Zahi
    So many Zahi links, it’s like that scene from Being John Malkovich.

    [quote=Greg]It would be highly likely that these museums, obviously unwilling to let go of priceless Egyptian artefacts, will now put forward the defence that it’s not safe to send them back to their country of origin.[/quote]

    This is already happening, read some of the comments to this blog. I find that attitude distasteful, to be honest — better security is needed, not smug and outdated colonial attitudes.

    Zahi’s dictatorial hold on Egyptology, his zionist rants, and (paid for) support of Mubarak… it’s pretty clear Egyptology needs new guardians of arguably the world’s richest source of archaeological treasures; people who would consider the job a privilege, not a right.

    I agree with Miguel — in the end, people are more important than objects. But these objects represent the people, their past, their identity — they’re more than just tourist dollars, but a cultural legacy. China is paying the price for the destruction of their culture. Thankfully, young Egyptians recognise the true worth of the museum and are putting their own lives at risk to protect it; because it’s their future, not just the past.

  3. Cairo museum destroyed by the police?
    I read an interesting article on the whole Egypt affair this weekend in the Independent newspaper. The interesting quote from that article, concerning the museum of Cairo, is:

    “Infinitely more terrible was the vandalism at the Egyptian National Museum. After police abandoned this greatest of ancient treasuries, looters broke into the red-painted building and smashed 4,000-year-old pharaonic statues, Egyptian mummies and magnificent wooden boats, originally carved – complete with their miniature crews – to accompany kings to their graves. Glass cases containing priceless figurines were bashed in, the black-painted soldiers inside pushed over. Again, it must be added that there were rumours before the discovery that police caused this vandalism before they fled the museum on Friday night. Ghastly shades of the Baghdad museum in 2003. It wasn’t as bad as that looting, but it was a most awful archeological disaster.”

    The full article can be read here:
    http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-egypt-death-throes-of-a-dictatorship-2198444.html

  4. Maybe his destiny
    Indiana Hawass – (Chanted w/incense and peppermints) Mighty ruler of ancient Egyptian History. The mountains bow and the rivers kneel before thy countenance. Keeper of the Pyramids, Sphinx… and a pretty nice country house in the outskirts of Alexandria.

    This guy has been a thorn in the side of every wannabe Egyptologist and ancient history conspiracy buff for years now.

    But… just saying, when it comes down to a situation like this playing out now in Egypt? I can’t think of anyone better suited to have protecting all that history… both discovered and undiscovered.

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