Egyptian Museum Is Secure; Mubarak Promotes Hawass

In the aftermath of this weekend's security crisis at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's newly-appointed Minister of Antiquities, told the New York Times that his country's antiquities were safe.

According to the Washington Post, damage from the lootings was less severe than previously thought:

Hawass earlier said heads were ripped off two mummies. On Tuesday, though, he said the museum had mistaken two skulls, separated from their skeletons, for mummy heads and that the items were intact.

Hawass, who had been secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, was promoted by President Hosni Mubarak on Monday to the cabinet position, which was created specially for the archaeologist. The promotion has drawn the attention of some National Democratic Party (NDP) critics, particularly following the revelation that some looters in other parts of Cairo carried police identification cards.

Hawass has been open in his support for the NDP, telling the New York Times that protesters

"Should give us the opportunity to change things, and if nothing happens they can march again," he said. "But you can't bring in a new president now, in this time. We need Mubarak to stay and make the transition."

With the military now protecting numerous museums and archaeological sites, Mubarak's administration has, at least temporarily, responded to some of its critics.

There has been no further word on lootings at the Memphis Museum, which former Egyptian Museum director Wafaa el-Saddik told German publication Zeit Online had been "robbed on Saturday morning completely" (Google Translation via Hyperallergic). The Guardian reports that citizens are protecting the Bibliotheca Alexandria, and AP reported Monday on a separate incident:

"Officials recovered nearly 300 archaeological items that were plundered by armed Bedouins in the Sinai Peninsula"

Comments

[reshmi1]

09:26 AM on 02/04/2011

http://bit.ly/ePS6Rq

[reshmi1]

09:24 AM on 02/04/2011

Mubarak you are very clever.i know your aim is to hold ur sits and earn money for your next generation.hahaha. http://bit .ly/ePS6Rq

[lisakclayton]

05:15 PM on 02/02/2011

An appointment to a higher position or title by Mubarak at this point is the last thing I would want if I planned to stay in Egypt after Mubarak falls.

[jokerdanny]

01:47 PM on 02/02/2011

is it safe? there hasn't been one mummy killed yet

[AquaBuddha]

01:31 PM on 02/02/2011

Death comes on swift wings to those who would defile my knick-knacks, you bet.

[onasphere]

01:26 PM on 02/02/2011

All the good stuff is in England, anyway.

[lisakclayton]

05:13 PM on 02/02/2011

Apparently you haven't seen the riches from Tut's tomb. That was enough to change the laws that allowed foreign collectors to pillage Egyptian treasures. :)

[BenK1976]

12:53 PM on 02/02/2011

the museum is where I would be trying to help protect their cultural treasures

I hope the museum remains safe

[robjh1]

12:43 PM on 02/02/2011

If the Egyptians destroy their heritage, they are no better than the government they are trying to remove.

[Anne Mccormick]

12:52 PM on 02/02/2011

i don't know if you've been to Cairo but i have. what i remember is the appalling number of people living well below what we would call the poverty line. i would not be surprised if many of these people see the artifacts in that museum as a means to get what they've never had. it'll be interesting to find out how much is looted and sold on the illegal market.

[EagleFliesInSky]

01:07 PM on 02/02/2011

Same here! They really don't care about the antiquities and will grab anything for a quick sale.

robjh1, you give them more credit than they deserve. Years ago, that museum was a crumbling, filthy, falling down mess until the Rockefeller Foundation came in to clean it up and rebuld it. I saw it before and after the rehab efforts and most of it was rehabbed by Americans.

[TheMuckraker]

11:56 AM on 02/02/2011

This requires experience.
Ask Rumsfeld.

[JTWallace]

11:11 AM on 02/02/2011

What a shame it would be for Egypts' history and knowledge of their heritage to be looted and destroyed. Remember the artifacts found in Greece during the discovery of all the gold, precious metals and jewelry which was shipped out of Greece to Germany which has never been seen since Hitler came to power. What a loss to Greece and her heritage. Hopefully they can protect the museum from such a shame in Egypt.

[reshmi1]

01:27 AM on 02/02/2011

Its sounds funny Mubarak.http://bit.ly/ePS6Rq