CAIRO: At least 54 artifacts were stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the 18-day uprising that led to the ouster of the former president Hosni Mubarak and his regime. Among the antiquities stolen from the museum were a wooden statue of King Tutankhamun showing the pharaoh carried by a goddess and another statue of the pharaoh harpooning a fish, the Egyptian authorities announced earlier this week. Another limestone statue of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and a statue of Queen Nefertiti were also missing. The museum's director, Tarek al-Awady, confirmed that 54 antiquities were stolen from the museum on the Janaury 28, when thugs broke into the museum after police withdrew from the streets of Cairo. Demonstrators quickly formed a human shield to protect the museum until the armed forces arrived to restore order. Al-Awady added that curators are still carrying out an inventory to determine the extent of the losses and the number of artifacts looted. Egyptian authorities said on Thursday that twelve stolen artifacts have been restored to the museum with the held of the armed forces. The sources told local media outlets that the artifacts were found with three suspects who are currently being questioned, and the stolen items were shown to the employees of the museum, who recognized them and confirmed there were stolen on January 28 Also on Thursday, the head of the Central Administration of Lower and Upper Egypt Antiquities, Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, said 27 artifacts are missing from Tal Al Fareen warehouse in Kafr Al-Sheikh city. He said that the missing items include 20 bronze coins from the Roman and Islamic eras, an item carved with ancient Greek motifs and a statuette with hieroglyphic inscriptions. The warehouse was stormed by 40 armed men who shot at the guards and stole the items a few weeks ago, before the resignation of the Minister for Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, who complained of the lack of security protection at the archaeological sites. UNESCO head Irina Bukova announced that a special delegation by UNESCO will visit Egypt next week to check the status of Egyptian archaeological sites following reports of looting. Bukova expressed her concern for Egypt's archaeological sites and museums and called on the Egyptian authorities to take concrete measures to protect these sites. BM
