EGYPT: Antiquities authorities say that a number of objects stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the revolution have been recovered

Record ID: 813054

  • Title: EGYPT: Antiquities authorities say that a number of objects stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the revolution have been recovered
  • Date: 1st April 2011
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (MARCH 30, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EGYPTIAN MUSEUM ANCIENT EGYPTIAN STATUE IN GARDEN IN FRONT OF MUSEUM ENTRANCE GROUP OF TOURISTS IN GARDEN STATUES IN GARDEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM, DR. TAREK AL-AWADY, SAYING: "Just two days ago the police again arrested three criminals, another three criminals, with five objec
  • Embargoed: 16th April 2011 13:00
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  • Location: Egypt, Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVAABJU5YXHZLTW9M2H4SYHOEOLY
  • Story Text: The head of the Egyptian Museum said on Wednesday (March 30) that authorities were making progress in recovering priceless Pharaonic artifacts stolen from the museum's collection during the country's revolution.
    Thieves and vandals broke into the museum on January 28, on the first day of the 18 day uprising that toppled longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on February 11th.
    Antiquities authorities now say that 17 of the 54 objects originally stolen have either been returned to the museum or recovered by the army and police.
    In addition to the pieces taken from the museum, 800 artifacts robbed from a warehouse in the canal city of Ismailiya are reportedly still missing.
    Most recently, on March 28 the museum announced that the army confiscated five artifacts from a dealer who was trying to sell them, and restored them to the museum's collection of over 120,000 ancient Egyptian treasures.
    Tourism has slowed in Egypt in the wake of Egypt's revolution, and the museum garden and galleries are nearly empty of tourists.
    Museum Director Tarek al-Awady said on Wednesday (March 30) that the authorities were gradually recovering the missing objects.
    "Just two days ago the police again arrested three criminals, another three criminals, with five objects. Now we are missing 37 objects from the museum. I hope that all the authorities will cooperate in order to repatriate our missing artifacts, and all the artifacts will be back to its original place inside the museum."
    Among the objects recently recovered are a bronze statue of Osiris from the 16th Dynasty and a bronze statue of the jackal god Anubis.
    A gilded wooden statue of the boy king Tutankhamun from the museum's most valuable collection remains missing.
    Museum director al-Awady said it was essential that the country's heritage, a source of national pride as well as income, be protected.
    "We want to make sure that our sites and museums are safe because they hold part of our heritage and this heritage you cannot compensate, you know? If you lose something, you lose it forever and we do not want to lose any part of our heritage," he said.
    Al-Awady said a number of new security measures were now under being studied in order to protect the museum, which is nearly 110 years old, such as sealing the skylights in the museum's dome and ceiling, and making the antiquated showcases more secure.
    "We do not want to get rid of these showcases because it's special and you cannot find it in any other museum. But we want to add more security measurements to these showcases. So we will I think in the future, we will put secured glass to these showcases keeping the same style," he said.
    Egypt's many spectacular Pharaonic sites and antiquities are a key attraction for tourists and tourism receipts are one of Egypt's most important revenue earners.
    Some tourists have begun to return, undeterred by the crises in neighbouring countries like Libya.
    "I suppose I was a little anxious about coming to the Middle East at this time, and obviously I wouldn't go to Libya right now, but, I figured that the rioting had stopped and that things had probably calmed down here. I thought that now might actually be a good time to come. There's not so many tourists," said British tourist Florence.
    A Spanish journalist visiting Egypt as part of an officially organized trip to promote tourism said she had been shocked at the lack of visitors.
    "Yesterday we stayed at the pyramids and there was no tourists, and now in the museum we can see all the museum without people. That is amazing and really sad, because I think that people have to come to Egypt because it is a very rich cultural country," said Maria Igartua While tour operators and travel officials are encouraging people to travel to Egypt after its largely peaceful revolution, industry representatives say it will take time for holidaymakers to return in their former numbers
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