King Tut Statues Stolen From Egypt Museum

Sad news was announced about some of the treasures kept at the Egyptian National Museum just after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as Egypt's president.

According to Zahi Hawass, who under Mubarak was recently named minister of antiquities, some 18 objects went missing following a break-in at the museum on Jan. 28, 2011.

"The staff of the database department at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, have given me their report on the inventory of objects at the museum following the break in. Sadly, they have discovered objects are missing from the museum," Hawass wrote in his blog.

The artifacts include a limestone statue of Akhenaten holding an offering table (previously announced to have been under restoration), and two gilded wood statues of King Tutankhamun, one of the boy king being carried by a goddess, the other of the pharaoh harpooning.

"Only the torso and upper limbs of the king are missing from this object," Hawass said, referring to the harpooning statue.

The other artifacts are a statue of Queen Nefertiti making an offering, the sandstone head of an Amarna princess, a stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna, and 11 wooden statuettes plus a heart scarab (a protective amulet for the heart) belonging to Yuya, King Tut's great-grandfather.

Hawass stated that an investigation has begun to find the people who have taken the objects, with the police and army planning to follow up with criminals already in custody.

He added that "in another terrible turn of events, on the night of 11 February, 2011 a magazine in Dahshur was broken into."

Called called De Morgan's, the magazine contains large blocks and small artifacts.

"I have said if the Egyptian Museum is safe, then Egypt is safe. However, I am now concerned Egypt is not safe," Hawass said.

Egyptologists and archaeologists have reacted with sadness and disconcert to the announcement, which comes after a series of reassuring statements.

"Just a few days ago it was stated that the museum was safe and everything could be easily restored. Now official sources say that some priceless artifacts have been stolen and others are impossible to restore," Daniele Salvoldi, a doctoral candidate in Egyptology at the University of Pisa, Italy, told Discovery News.

Read more at Discovery News