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Inventory of artefacts of Cairo U archaeology museum starts today, one month after break-in

Archaeological committee starts work

Published on 5 June 2011

Author(s): Ahram/Nevine El-Aref

Type:  News

An Egyptian ministerial archaeological committee starts their tour of the Cairo University archaeology museum after last month's break-in to determine precisely what is missing

An archaeological committee from the ministry of state for antiquities (MSA) embarked today on an inspection tour of the collection of the faculty of archaeology museum, Cairo University, which was robbed a month ago.

Zahi Hawass, minister of state of the MSA told Ahram Online that the tour was granted upon the request of the prosecutor in charge of investigations who attempts to pinpoint all of the losses.

The committee will also inventory the museum’s collection and compare it with artefacts registered in the faculty’s documents. A detailed and final report will be submitted to the prosecutor upon completion of the committee’s mission.

Broken window of museum.jpg
The broken window of the museum

In fact, in early May, coincidence played a role in discovering the robbery of the museum of the faculty of antiquities when a faculty committee inspected the museum, which was closed since February following the several break-ins of different archaeological sites.

Upon reaching the museum located in the faculty’s backyard, the committee discovered that the museum’s windows were broken and that it had been subjected to a robbery attempt.

Early investigations revealed that thieves climbed on wooden scaffolding (which was on-hand at the facilities, normally used for polishing some of its buildings) broke the windows and jumped into the museum’s halls.

Until now no one knows the exact number of missing artefacts, but the current MSA archaeological committee’s duty is precisely that.

The museum houses 1,950 artefacts that belong to the ancient Egyptian, Coptic and Islamic eras displayed in two vast halls.

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