Statues of Tutankhamun damaged at the Cairo Museum

2 February 2011 - Filed under Tutankhamun

Museum replicas of the two damaged statues are on view at The Tutankhamun Exhibition, Dorchester.

Alarming video and still footage on Flickr, Twitter and blogs show that some of the most famous treasures of Tutankhamun have been damaged. Looters broke into the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and inflicted significant damage to the famous standing gilt figure of Tutankhamun.

Michael Ridley, The Director of the Tutankhamun Exhibition in Dorchester, said this was a very sad day.

Standing in front of museum facsimiles of the golden statues of Tutankhamun in the exhibition at Dorchester he said “These wonderful works of art have survived over three thousand years only to be virtually destroyed in an instant by modern day political unrest”.

He continued “We do not know the full extent of the damage. I simply hope that no more wonderful treasures have been damaged or stolen. I have heard reports that the famous golden shrines of Tutankhamun have had their doors ripped off”

The mummies of Tutankhamun’s great grandparents, Thuya and Yuya also appear to have been vandalised, They appear to have been beheaded and the gilded cartonage and wrappings damaged. They are extremely important and are two of the best preserved mummies from ancient Egypt

The standing figures of Tutankhamun, one on a papyrus boat has been torn from its base, whilst another figure of the king standing on a panther has been smashed. The statues appear to be missing, but reports suggest that they may have been recovered.

The staff at the Tutankhamun Exhibition in Dorchester have been examining the footage from Al Jazeera to try and identify some of the ancient casualties, and it appears there may be even more casualties from the tomb of Tutankhamun.

It is reported that nine men were caught carrying two mummy heads and two statues — possibly the two statues (above) that are missing from the bases.

Museum replicas of the damaged statues are on view at The Tutankhamun Exhibition showing in Dorchester

2011-02-02  »  admin