About '1,000 Relics' Stolen During Egypt Uprising

Many items, including artifacts from the famous King Tutankhamun collection, were targeted by thieves.


Since Egypt's anti-government protests began in January, many museums and archeological sites were looted.

It is estimated that around 1,000 items were stolen, but it will be very difficult for the items to leave the country, say authorities.



"They were not organized, they lived near the archeological sites where the objects were kept. They would take advantage of the night to enter the archeological sites and pillage," he added.


The inventory of all the items that were stolen during the uprising and the weeks of unrest that followed will be given to UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, Hawass said.

The tomb of Hetep-ka at Saqqara and the tomb of Em-pi at Giza as well as the Egyptian museum in Cairo, which houses most of the King Tutankhamen collection, were among the places targeted by thieves, he added.

Hawass was named minister of antiquities last month. He had served as head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and later became minister of state under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

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