Egypt in Crisis - Looters behead mummies, says Hawass...

[caesar novus]

on another matter, is this really a popular uprising? or an uprising of specific part of the population orchestrated from behind.

<SNIP>

Also any one remember the Domino theory

Tv news showed somebody's mathematical model weighing degrees of valid grievances, youthful dissent, etc per country and came up with an ordered list ripe for popular overthrow as something like Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, and then Venezuela. If this is more orchestrated, we should eventually hear about it.

 

I was surprised to see Hitler quoted as admitting in dinner conversation to being a copycat to Mussolini, somewhat like Egypt is to Tunisia. In Martin Bormann's "Hitlers Tabletalk", he quotes him as barely dreaming of success until he saw blackshirts succeed on the streets of Rome. I hope it is ok and interesting to paste a page in here which is a portion of the 1953 translation from the internet. It circles around back to the Roman empire.

 

Don't suppose that events in Italy had no influence on

us. The brown shirt would probably not have existed without

the black shirt. The march on Rome, in 1922, was one of the

turning-points of history. The mere fact that anything of the

sort could be attempted, and could succeed, gave us an im-

petus. A few weeks after the march on Rome, I was received by

the Minister Schweyer. That would never have happened

otherwise.

If Mussolini had been outdistanced by Marxism, I don't

know whether we could have succeeded in holding out. At that

period National Socialism was a very fragile growth.

If the Duce were to die, it would be a great misfortune for

Italy. As I walked with him in the gardens of the Villa Bor-

ghese, I could easily compare his profile with that of the Roman

busts, and I realised he was one of the Caesars. There's no

doubt at all that Mussolini is the heir of the great men of that

period.

Despite their weaknesses, the Italians have so many qualities

that make us like them.

Italy is the country where intelligence created the notion of

the State. The Roman Empire is a great political creation, the

greatest of all.

The Italian people's musical sense, its liking for harmonious

proportions, the beauty of its race! The Renaissance was the

dawn of a new era, in which Aryan man found himself anew.

There's also our own past on Italian soil. A man who is in-

different to history is a man without hearing, without sight.

Such a man can live, of course

Edited February 2, 2011 by caesar novus

[Ludovicus]

Seems the situation has changed for the worse with the Egyptian Museum reportedly now on fire.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/02/egyptian-museum-on-fire-f_n_817532.html

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

I hear the same information on Euronews, along with the fact that it has suffered new lootings and two more mummies might have been destroyed. I'll investigate my sources and repport here ASAP

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

ok, a first update : it looks like, according to the sometimes somewhat contestable Dorothy King, that the museum as served as a base for the pro-mubarak, the army letting them run the place to launch the attack on the Tarhir square. cf : http://phdiva.blogspot.com/2011/02/egyptian-museum-in-cairo-is-battle.html

 

Kate Phizackerley has not yet had time to look at the informations and report but says that the fire in the museum might not have caused much damages

[Crispina]

Thanks for the updates.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

some more data on the damages in Saqqarah shows massive looting and damages, including fire damages, to the ruins : http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/looting-at-saqqara.html

 

another blog talks about who's been looting the museum in Cairo and says that it was in part guards and members of the tourists police who did the preliminary looting : http://www.talkingpyramids.com/who-looted-the-egyptian-museum/

 

that's it for today's update

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

Some more informations from the PhDiva on the damages caused to the Egyptian Museum, with pictures of the damaged mummies : http://phdiva.blogspot.com/2011/02/egyptian-museum-etc.html

[Primus Pilus]

A couple random semi-connected thoughts...

 

Is it truly looters or is it the radical Islamic rejection of "western" heritage and ideals?

 

Tourism being such a giant industry in Egypt, destruction of cultural icons certainly won't aid anyone in the future. I understand that many Egyptians may feel that the expenditures of tourists only fill the coffers of the elite and the aristocracy, but everything has a relative domino effect.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

While there has indeed been islamic terror attacks against tourists (one may remember the deadly Deir El Bahari attacks) they were more against the tourists than the artifacts, the idea being to make tourists flee in order to cut off tourism revenue for the governement. The Egyptians see tourism as a milkcow that helps keep their economy afloat (11% of the country's GDP if I remember well) and ancient egyptian civilisation is not perceived as a threat. On the other hand coptic remains (and active places...) are seen as more legitimate target because being part of an active faith and a part of christianity.

The looting might be more the fruit of the association of artifacts and value (after all museum are built around them...) and thus attempts at guick cash (especially since it seems that valuables in precious metals have been primarily targeted since they can always be melted if they can't be sold in their current form). Part of the looting could also be born of criminal activities by international gangs targeting specific remains (especially true of mural paintings in tombs or temples) who, on specific orders by private collectors of great fortune and few principles, will go and grab what they want. Similar operations have been seen in Irak and are also common in far-east Asia.

[caesar novus]

Is it truly looters or is it the radical Islamic rejection of "western" heritage and ideals?

I think there already is an active archeo-looters infrastructure in Egypt that would be eyeing a chance to immediately leap from the shadows. Some museum employees probably have been approached by them over the years and a few figured now they can get away with what they couldn't before. I have seen reports from Israeli law enforcement tracking down local outlaw rings that hook up with sophisticated antiquity robbing-for-hire groups in Egypt.

 

When I was Egypt long ago, the anti western side was hidden and more apparent was the opposite - sort of a solidarity with tourists as people who were less predatory than similarly wealthy residents. Their were obvious splits in society - flamboyant misbegotten wealth and crass treatment of minorities even in public.

 

Every society has fractures, but what may be hard to relate to is Egypt's long term stagnation of hope for self betterment in terms of money or position. We may have Phd's taking up homeless lifestyles, but more as a slacker choice rather than an insurmountable fate. Folks in western China have hard, poor lives... but they can bear it due to anticipating relief coming as economic blessings move westward over the years.

Edited February 4, 2011 by caesar novus

[GhostOfClayton]

Nice little quote from Jimmy Carr last night. Lightens the mood, but does have a serious point behind it.

 

"A lot of people have been concerned that Egypt's finest and most valuable historical artefacts are being looted and vandalised. But don't worry! I've been down to the British Museum, and they're all OK."

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

New information on Saqqarah, it is said the site was looted by as many as 200 hundred looters : http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/02/egypt-update-rare-tomb-may-have.html?ref=ra

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

here are some new informations :

 

- on how the local peoples in Karnak protected the ancient remains and, at the behest of their imams, the christian churches in town : http://www.kv64.info/2011/02/personal-account-from-karnak.html

 

- a large article on Saqquarah where the official version is being more and more contested : http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2011/02/news_flash_detailed_report_abo_1.html

 

It says that some egyptian workmen used by the archeologists were leading the looting and did massive destruction.

 

- Dashur might now be secure but there are fears of damages at Abusir : http://www.kv64.info/2011/02/saqqara-update.html

 

I think the information on how some islamic clergy ordered their flock to protect other faiths is a good sign and shows that the attack on coptic churches in december were not approved by the main population (as had been shown at the time by muslims protecting the christians churches immediately after the bombings)

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

A National Geographist journalist has been allowed access to Saqqarah and reports on a well organized PR event which seems to confirm that the feared damages were not as important as thought : http://www.kv64.info/2011/02/key-tombs-at-saqqara-safe.html

[Melvadius]

Hawass is quoted in Ahram online as saying that the earlier reports of damage to museum artefacts were in some instances such as the 'Royal mummies' mistaken while 70 items which were damaged are currently being restored and apparently will be back on display within the next week.

 

During a short inspection tour around the exhibition halls in the museum, Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass announced that the seventy objects broken during the foiled looting attempt will be back to their original condition within five days, following comprehensive restoration.

 

Restoration was also carried out on a statue depicting the boy-king Tutankhamun on a panther. He pointed out that procedures are now being taken to re-open all the archaeological sites around Egypt.

 

Hawass told Ahram Online that reports being published in the media claiming that the Memphis, Saqqara and Abusir necropolis were plundered are untrue. These sites, he continued, like all archaeological sites in Egypt, are safe and have not been looted.

 

...continued