Dear All, In the Supreme Council of Antiquities, we all realize with great appreciation the concerns of the entire Egyptological and archaeological communities around the world on the safety of Egypt's archaeological heritage. We also understand that these concerns are growing higher and higher with the frightening news about "ransacking", "looting", "plundering", "vandalizing"…etc. of Egypt's museums, magazines and archaeological sites. These reports on the situation of Egypt's archaeological heritage are not entirely accurate. There were indeed incidents of vandalism, but have not reached the level of looting. We would like to assure everybody that archaeological sites and museums in Egypt are in the capable hands of the Egyptian Army, the inspectors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and most importantly the villagers living in the vicinity of these archaeological sites. Villagers have formed human shields around the sites and are assisting the army and the inspectors in guarding the magazines and sites. The story of the vandalism of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo is very complex with multiple sides to it. The people who congregated in the garden of the museum on Friday, January 28 had different intensions. Some people were protecting the museum; others entered the garden with the intension to break into the museum. A third group was just hanging out as if they were in a picnic! The newly opened museum gift-shop was vandalized and ransacked. Looters thought all along that the gift-shop is the Egyptian Museum and that the jewelry gifts and replicas are antiquities. The majority of the looted jewelry was returned by the Egyptian Army personnel, who rushed into the museum once the curfew was forced. They arrested a number of looters and used the help of volunteers to form a human shield around the museum. The funny part of the story is that only the books of the gift-shop remained untouched. Looters are never interested in books, I guess. However, ca. 6 people broke into the museum through the windows in the museum ceiling using ropes. One of those people fell down on a showcase, while going down using the rope. He got injured and cloud not escape, and was arrested inside the museum. The army also arrested ca. 10 more people who tried relentlessly to scale the western museum surrounding wall. The preliminary damage assessment of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo was conducted on Saturday, January 29, by a committee of Egyptologists, army personnel and policemen. This committee included Dr. Tarek El-Awady, the General Director of the Museum, Mr. Ibraheim Abd El-Mageid, a Senior Curator at the museum and myself. We found out that only 13 (thirteen) showcases were smashed and objects were taken out. Fortunately, the thieves were after "treasures". In their understanding, "treasures" are gold objects. Therefore, they left all the objects of the smashed showcases lying on the floors of the galleries. Some of these objects are found broken, while others are still intact. A full account of the vandalism of Egypt's archaeological sites and museums could be found on Dr. Zahi Hawass's website, www.zahihawass.com, and on that of the SCA. Attached are Hawass's statements.Ramadan B. HusseinSupreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) PRESS RELEASE Release Date: 02/02/2011 From: Office of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of AntiquitiesSubject: The State of Egyptian AntiquitiesContact: The SCA Press Office: sca3press@gmail.com or +20 (0)2 2735 3964; Also visit: www.sca-egypt.org/eng/MR_PR.htm. I would like the people of the world to know that today all of the Egyptian monuments are safe. All the archaeological sites in Aswan, such as the Temple of Philae, the Unfinished Obelisk, the Island of Kalabsha, the Tombs of the Nomarchs, and Elephantine Island are completely safe. The temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo are also safe. All of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Tombs of the Nobles, and the temples of Luxor and Karnak are safe. The temples of Dendera, Abydos, the sites in Akhmim, and all sites in Middle Egypt, such as Tuna el-Gebel, Amarna, and Beni Hasan, are safe. All sites in Alexandria are safe. All the mosques, synagogues, and monasteries are safe; nothing has happened to any of them. The sites of Giza and Saqqara are also safe. Outlaws only broke the padlocks that secure the tombs of Saqqara, and when we went inside to check them we were happy to see that no damage had been done. The most serious offense that occurred was the looting of the storage magazine in Qantara, in the Sinai. On Friday night a group armed with guns entered the magazine and stole some antiquities that were stored in boxes. Yesterday, 288 of these objects were returned. We do not know the full extent of the damage done to this magazine, but we will soon. All of the museums in Egypt, 24 in total, are safe and unharmed; only the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, was broken into. When I went to the museum on Saturday morning I found out that 70 objects had been broken, but nothing had been stolen. All 70 objects can be restored, and can be safely put back in place. I would like to tell the world that the situation in Egypt was bad for two days, beginning on Friday. However, all the archaeological sites in the country were protected by Egyptian people of all ages; I am especially proud of the young Egyptians who formed a line around the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, to protect it from outlaws and further break-ins. I would like UNESCO and people around the world not to worry because the sites of Egypt are safe. PRESS RELEASE Release Date: Thursday, February 3, 2011 From: Office of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of AntiquitiesSubject: The State of Egyptian AntiquitiesContact: The SCA Press Office: sca3press@gmail.com or +20 (0)2 2735 3964; Also visit: www.sca-egypt.org/eng/MR_PR.htm. Again, I want to tell everyone that all the fights and fires in Tahrir Square that many people saw on television yesterday did not affect the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, at all. There were rumors that began last night that claimed the museum was on fire. I was in contact with the control room of the museum all throughout the night. The cameras of the control room can see outside of the museum into the gardens and also outside of the surrounding walls. When some people saw a car burning, they started to say that the museum was burning as well. The people spreading these rumors are idiots, because, as I have been saying in each of my statements, if the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, is safe, Egypt is safe. If there was a fire near the museum, I have the fire department located outside of the museum, and they could quickly control and put out any fire. Again, I am the only source of continuing truth concerning antiquities, and these rumors are aimed at making the Egyptian people look bad. If anything happens to the museum, I would bravely tell everyone all over the world because I am a man of honor, and I would never hide anything from you. It is from my heart that I tell people everywhere that I am the guardian of these monuments that belong to the whole world. The Gezira television station has reported that the monuments of Saqqara have been damaged and items were stolen- this is not true. The army is in charge of guarding the site; I called the general there 5 minutes ago (it is now 10:30 am on February 3, 2011), and he informed me that Saqqara is safe and all the monuments are fine; nothing is damaged or stolen. The site of Lisht has excavations run by Dieter Arnold of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The guards of the Lisht monuments called Dieter two days ago to reassure him that they were doing a good job of guarding the site. I want Dieter to know that Lisht is safe and will remain safe. If anything happens I will announce it. I want people to know that only two things have happened so far: 1) The break-in at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, resulting in 70 broken objects, all of which can and will be restored, and 2) The break-in at the storage magazine at Qantara, in the Sinai. We do not know exactly how many objects were stolen from this magazine, but a total of 6 boxes were taken. All of these objects came from excavations or were being stored there from the Port Said Museum. As of today, 288 objects have been returned, and I am sure that any other artifacts still missing from this magazine will be returned. I want everyone to relax, and know that I am here and we are all watching with open eyes. I want people to know that after 9 days of protests, the monuments are safe. Why? Because the Egyptian people are protecting them.
Comunicazioni importanti dall'Egitto ...
Dear All, In the Supreme Council of Antiquities, we all realize with great appreciation the concerns of the entire Egyptological and archaeological communities around the world on the safety of Egypt's archaeological heritage. We also understand that these concerns are growing higher and higher with the frightening news about "ransacking", "looting", "plundering", "vandalizing"…etc. of Egypt's museums, magazines and archaeological sites. These reports on the situation of Egypt's archaeological heritage are not entirely accurate. There were indeed incidents of vandalism, but have not reached the level of looting. We would like to assure everybody that archaeological sites and museums in Egypt are in the capable hands of the Egyptian Army, the inspectors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and most importantly the villagers living in the vicinity of these archaeological sites. Villagers have formed human shields around the sites and are assisting the army and the inspectors in guarding the magazines and sites. The story of the vandalism of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo is very complex with multiple sides to it. The people who congregated in the garden of the museum on Friday, January 28 had different intensions. Some people were protecting the museum; others entered the garden with the intension to break into the museum. A third group was just hanging out as if they were in a picnic! The newly opened museum gift-shop was vandalized and ransacked. Looters thought all along that the gift-shop is the Egyptian Museum and that the jewelry gifts and replicas are antiquities. The majority of the looted jewelry was returned by the Egyptian Army personnel, who rushed into the museum once the curfew was forced. They arrested a number of looters and used the help of volunteers to form a human shield around the museum. The funny part of the story is that only the books of the gift-shop remained untouched. Looters are never interested in books, I guess. However, ca. 6 people broke into the museum through the windows in the museum ceiling using ropes. One of those people fell down on a showcase, while going down using the rope. He got injured and cloud not escape, and was arrested inside the museum. The army also arrested ca. 10 more people who tried relentlessly to scale the western museum surrounding wall. The preliminary damage assessment of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo was conducted on Saturday, January 29, by a committee of Egyptologists, army personnel and policemen. This committee included Dr. Tarek El-Awady, the General Director of the Museum, Mr. Ibraheim Abd El-Mageid, a Senior Curator at the museum and myself. We found out that only 13 (thirteen) showcases were smashed and objects were taken out. Fortunately, the thieves were after "treasures". In their understanding, "treasures" are gold objects. Therefore, they left all the objects of the smashed showcases lying on the floors of the galleries. Some of these objects are found broken, while others are still intact. A full account of the vandalism of Egypt's archaeological sites and museums could be found on Dr. Zahi Hawass's website, www.zahihawass.com, and on that of the SCA. Attached are Hawass's statements.Ramadan B. HusseinSupreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) PRESS RELEASE Release Date: 02/02/2011 From: Office of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of AntiquitiesSubject: The State of Egyptian AntiquitiesContact: The SCA Press Office: sca3press@gmail.com or +20 (0)2 2735 3964; Also visit: www.sca-egypt.org/eng/MR_PR.htm. I would like the people of the world to know that today all of the Egyptian monuments are safe. All the archaeological sites in Aswan, such as the Temple of Philae, the Unfinished Obelisk, the Island of Kalabsha, the Tombs of the Nomarchs, and Elephantine Island are completely safe. The temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo are also safe. All of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Tombs of the Nobles, and the temples of Luxor and Karnak are safe. The temples of Dendera, Abydos, the sites in Akhmim, and all sites in Middle Egypt, such as Tuna el-Gebel, Amarna, and Beni Hasan, are safe. All sites in Alexandria are safe. All the mosques, synagogues, and monasteries are safe; nothing has happened to any of them. The sites of Giza and Saqqara are also safe. Outlaws only broke the padlocks that secure the tombs of Saqqara, and when we went inside to check them we were happy to see that no damage had been done. The most serious offense that occurred was the looting of the storage magazine in Qantara, in the Sinai. On Friday night a group armed with guns entered the magazine and stole some antiquities that were stored in boxes. Yesterday, 288 of these objects were returned. We do not know the full extent of the damage done to this magazine, but we will soon. All of the museums in Egypt, 24 in total, are safe and unharmed; only the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, was broken into. When I went to the museum on Saturday morning I found out that 70 objects had been broken, but nothing had been stolen. All 70 objects can be restored, and can be safely put back in place. I would like to tell the world that the situation in Egypt was bad for two days, beginning on Friday. However, all the archaeological sites in the country were protected by Egyptian people of all ages; I am especially proud of the young Egyptians who formed a line around the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, to protect it from outlaws and further break-ins. I would like UNESCO and people around the world not to worry because the sites of Egypt are safe. PRESS RELEASE Release Date: Thursday, February 3, 2011 From: Office of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of AntiquitiesSubject: The State of Egyptian AntiquitiesContact: The SCA Press Office: sca3press@gmail.com or +20 (0)2 2735 3964; Also visit: www.sca-egypt.org/eng/MR_PR.htm. Again, I want to tell everyone that all the fights and fires in Tahrir Square that many people saw on television yesterday did not affect the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, at all. There were rumors that began last night that claimed the museum was on fire. I was in contact with the control room of the museum all throughout the night. The cameras of the control room can see outside of the museum into the gardens and also outside of the surrounding walls. When some people saw a car burning, they started to say that the museum was burning as well. The people spreading these rumors are idiots, because, as I have been saying in each of my statements, if the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, is safe, Egypt is safe. If there was a fire near the museum, I have the fire department located outside of the museum, and they could quickly control and put out any fire. Again, I am the only source of continuing truth concerning antiquities, and these rumors are aimed at making the Egyptian people look bad. If anything happens to the museum, I would bravely tell everyone all over the world because I am a man of honor, and I would never hide anything from you. It is from my heart that I tell people everywhere that I am the guardian of these monuments that belong to the whole world. The Gezira television station has reported that the monuments of Saqqara have been damaged and items were stolen- this is not true. The army is in charge of guarding the site; I called the general there 5 minutes ago (it is now 10:30 am on February 3, 2011), and he informed me that Saqqara is safe and all the monuments are fine; nothing is damaged or stolen. The site of Lisht has excavations run by Dieter Arnold of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The guards of the Lisht monuments called Dieter two days ago to reassure him that they were doing a good job of guarding the site. I want Dieter to know that Lisht is safe and will remain safe. If anything happens I will announce it. I want people to know that only two things have happened so far: 1) The break-in at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, resulting in 70 broken objects, all of which can and will be restored, and 2) The break-in at the storage magazine at Qantara, in the Sinai. We do not know exactly how many objects were stolen from this magazine, but a total of 6 boxes were taken. All of these objects came from excavations or were being stored there from the Port Said Museum. As of today, 288 objects have been returned, and I am sure that any other artifacts still missing from this magazine will be returned. I want everyone to relax, and know that I am here and we are all watching with open eyes. I want people to know that after 9 days of protests, the monuments are safe. Why? Because the Egyptian people are protecting them.