In a steady stream of almost daily updates, Zahi Hawass continues to report on the status of Egypt’s archaeological sites and treasures. Many of the reports are preliminary and the extent of potential loss awaits further assessment.
On February 20, Egypt will reopen many of its archaeological sites to tourists.
Hawass’s blog features photos of the panther from a statue of Tutankhamun before and after its partial restoration.
Of the objects reported to have been taken from the Cairo Museum, three were found on the museum grounds. Last night, a fourth object, the limestone statue of Akhenaten, was handed over at a Cairo police station.
Akhenaten Statue before looting (www.drhawass.com).
Hawass reports that antiquities storage magazines at Saqqara and Cairo University, and two tombs at Saqqara and Abusir were broken into. A storage magazine at Dahshur has been broken into twice, and several boxes of objects were stolen from another storage magazine at Qantara East, Sinai. Of the objects taken from Qantara East, 298 of them have been returned. The Egyptian military prevented additional break-ins at Tell el Basta and Lisht.
