*Apologises for the lack of proper formatting in this page


The mummies reportedly damaged in the Egyptian Museum appear not to be Thuya and Yuya (image above via Yahoo News - see link at end of this article).  See Zahi Hawass’ blog for a description of the events of the initial attempt of thieves that made their way into the museum.  Apparently, the thieves were hoping to get items of gold but were unaware of where gold items were stored in the museum.  In a further report, via the Kansas City Star - http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/31/2621877/egypt-military-detain-50-at-museum.html, there has been a claim that there have been two more attempts on the Egyptian Museum in Cairo with 35 thieves detained on Sunday (30th of January) with a further 15 detained on an attempt on Monday (31st of January) by the military.
In an attempt to create a new government, President Mubarak has named Zahi Hawass to be the State Minister of Antiquities to head up the Department of Antiquities.  There has been no official press release, so the official title of his post is not confirmed at this time. Due to current events, Dr. Zahi Hawass has regretfully cancelled his lecture at Manchester, UK ‘Adventures in Egypt’ until further notice.


Looting has been reported at the site of Qantara, East Sinai (which is a storehouse for the Port Said Museum).  Those who witnessed the looting said that a group of males came up to the warehouse well-armed and ransacked the storehouse for gold artefacts – when they were told that the storehouse did not have such items, the group continued to rummage through the artefacts and have made off with, reportedly, with 6 boxes of antiquities.


Looting has also been reported at Saqqara and Abusir storehouses, although no further information has been given. The military is only protecting the Imhotep Museum. At this time however, there are no confirmed reports of break-ins at the other 24 antiquities museums of Egypt. At the Mit Rahina storehouse (Memphis) looting has also been reported. Those with Egyptological knowledge are advised to be aware of any items on the antiquities market which may have resulted from these thefts: if suspect artefacts are seen, the public are asked to contact the relevant authorities.


At Luxor, locals prevented would-be thieves from stealing from the Karnak warehouse: they were successful in repelling the attack and handed over five of the thugs to the military. Similarly the Library of Alexandria is said to be safeguarded by self-organised local groups together with the staff of the library.


Archaeological teams are reportedly still working at Abydos, where the SCA is still operating fully. However, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) has suspended its excavations in the country and has advised all staff to make their way to Cairo. The Dakleh Oasis project and the EES team in Luxor have similarly shut down their operations. The AERA team at Giza has lost some equipment to looters and it has been claimed there has been damage to antiquities and open tombs (although the extent of this is unknown).


Sources:

Zahi Hawass – Situation In Egyptian Antiquites Today (30-Jan-2011) - http://www.drhawass.com/blog/situation-egyptian-antiquities-today
Zahi Hawass – Manchester Talk Cancellation - http://www.drhawass.com/new
BikyaMasr – Looting of Antiquities - http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=25085
Unreported Heritage News – Damage at Giza Pyramids, Looters turned back from Karnak - http://www.unreportedheritagenews.com/2011/01/damage-reported-at-giza-pyramids.html
Egypt Exploration Society – Notice of EES Team in Luxor - http://www.ees.ac.uk/news/index/93.html
Reuters - Looters pillage Egyptian Antiquities Warehouses (Qantara) - http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE70U0XN20110131
Time – Report on 1st break-in at the Egyptian Museum - http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2045155,00.html
Washington Post – Report on 1st break-in at the Egyptian Museum - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/30/AR2011013003244.html



Facebook Groups (for latest information):

Restore + Save the Egyptian Museum! -http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_197921123555505
Egyptologists for Egypt. Supporting the people's demands - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Egyptologists-for-Egypt-Supporting-the-peoples-demands/104270532983680

*Image Copyright of Associated Press via Yahoo News (gallery has other notable images) - Gallery

*Above photo may not be authentic - see this Facebook Page for argument.

**Update, photo has been confirmed to be in the Associated Press database as genuine - item no.#11013106094