Egypt: 96 Artifacts Missing From Museum

Nearly a hundred small artifacts, some dating back to the time of the pharaohs, have gone missing from a museum in southern Egypt, officials said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Antiquities said 96 artifacts, mostly small figurines and beads, disappeared from the Aswan Museum’s storehouse.

Employees noticed a number of artifacts missing, the statement said. A committee looking into the objects’ disappearance checked the storehouse’s inventory and found that the lock on the inner door had been broken.

Officials in Aswan said the disappearance was a first for the museum, which hasn’t experienced the thefts that have plagued some other museums around the country throughout the unrest of the past three years. They said evidence pointed to an insider theft.

They spoke anonymously as they weren’t authorized to brief the press,

Egypt’s ancient treasures have suffered during the aftermath of the uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011. During the 18 days of protest that led to Mubarak stepping down, 51 pieces were stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, located on the edge of Tahrir Square, the center of the uprising. Some have been recovered.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the January 2nd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.