Mummies set on fire as looters raid Egyptian museum
Source: channel4.com
Ancient Egyptian artefacts including jewellery, pottery, coins, sculptures were stolen and two mummies set on fire during unrest across the country, says an archaeologist.In the latest round of violence that gripped Egypt after security forces cracked down on supporters of the ousted Mohammed Morsi, vandals looted a museum in the upper Egyptian town of Minyai. Monica Hanna, an Egyptian archaeologist, said the attack was the worst of its kind since the Egyptian revolution of 2011 in which Egypt’s famous Cairo Museum was also broken into and looted:
"I think we are missing around 500 objects which is a huge loss because when the break (in) happened here at the Egyptian museum [in Cairo] the loss was around 50 objects, so imagine this loss is ten times bigger than what we lost at the Egyptian Museum".
’Egyptian masks shattered’
The raiders in Minya not only stole artefacts including jewellery, pottery, coins and sculptures, but also set fire to two mummies and smashed up any other artefact that was too big to carry away.
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Read the full article at: channel4.com
