[Egypt]Experts fret over Egypt's treasures

Egyptian women walk past army vehicles on February 3, 2011 stationed in front of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo’s central Tahrir square. Crowds have gathered here for days calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

PARIS: Archaeologists voiced deepening concern after fresh street battles erupted around Cairo's Egyptian Museum housing the gold sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun and other priceless relics.

Websites and chat-rooms buzzed with anxiety after a break-in that left a number of glass cabinets smashed and precious objects damaged, including two mummies. There were also accounts of pilfering at an antiquities storage depot at Qantara and anecdotal reports of tomb raiding at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara.
In London, the British Museum said the Egyptian Museum housed objects "of unique importance to world heritage. "It is a matter of the greatest concern that these irreplaceable objects should be fully protected to ensure their safety and survival for future generations," it said.


Inestimable value of 120,000 artefacts

In Paris, the Louvre said it was "very closely" following the situation. A team of French archaeologists, on a dig at Saqqara, had decided to return to France as site access had been closed for security reasons, it said.
UNESCO chief Irina Bokova pleaded for "all necessary measures" to be taken to preserve Egypt's treasures and secure the country's historical sites.
"Egyptian cultural heritage, both its monuments and its artefacts, are part of the ancestral heritage of humanity, handed down to us through the ages," she said. "The value of the 120,000 pieces in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is inestimable, not only in scientific or financial terms, but because they represent the Egyptian people’s cultural identity."


Playing down the damage

But the country's newly appointed minister of antiquities, well-known egyptologist Zahi Hawass, on Thursday played down accounts of the break-in at the Museum and warned against "rumours."
In a posting on his blog Hawass said the incident at the museum resulted in "70 broken objects, all of which can be restored." "I want people to know that after nine days of protests, the monuments are safe," Hawass said. "If anything happens, I will announce it."
He explained that the fire brigade was deployed close by to intervene if need be. His blog featured pictures of heavily armed troops stationed in his office and behind the museum's high railings. Hawass added that "nothing is damaged or stolen" at Saqqara, but confirmed that six boxes had been stolen at Qantara.