Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Damaged in Looting

Shattered

Photograph from AP

Two ancient mummified heads, as yet unidentified, lie on the floor of the Egyptian Museum on Monday after the weekend attack by looters. (Related: "Plundering of Tombs, Museums, Antiquities Widespread, Egyptian Official Reports" on our News Watch blog.)



Before the Break-in

Photograph by Roger Wood, Corbis

Pictured in 1963, a 14th-century B.C. statuette from King Tut's tomb shows the young pharaoh balanced on the back of a leopard. One of a matched pair, the sculpture was reportedly damaged in the weekend attack on the Egyptian Museum.



Guarding the Past

Photograph by Tara Todras-Whitehill, AP

In a gallery displaying King Tut's 3,300-year-old chariots, a member of the Egyptian special forces stands guard near a case allegedly smashed by looters this past weekend. Pieces of the pharaoh's damaged ceremonial fan of gold lie on top of the glass.


Line of Fire

Photograph by Kenneth Garrett, National Geographic

Looters in the Egyptian Museum reportedly damaged 4,000-year-old models that represent an army of Nubian archers (shown intact in a file picture). Standing about 21 inches (53 centimeters) tall, the statues were discovered in 1894 in the tomb of a prince in the town of Assiut.



City of the Dead

Photograph by Werner Forman, Corbis

In the region around this 4,500-year-old tomb of an official at Abusir (pictured in an undated photo), looters allegedly broke into excavation warehouses filled with artifacts this past weekend.

Egypt's museums are so full of ancient treasures that many excavated objects are stored near the sites where they were found. In peaceful times a padlocked door, lead seals marked with an inspector's stamp, and a guard are enough to keep them safe.