Oh, my

I have an interest in aegyptology, so for years I've read news stories quoting Zahi Hawass, sometimes driving me crazy with some of his pronouncements. That's not going to be the case anymore, apparently.

Egypt's iconic antiquities chief fired: Critics said longtime leader was too close to former Mubarak regime

Egypt's antiquities minister, whose trademark Indiana Jones hat made him one the country's best known figures around the world, was fired Sunday after months of pressure from critics who attacked his credibility and accused him of having been too close to the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Zahi Hawass, long chided as publicity loving and short on scientific knowledge, lost his job along with about a dozen other ministers in a Cabinet reshuffle meant to ease pressure from protesters seeking to purge remnants of Mubarak's regime.

"He was the Mubarak of antiquities," said Nora Shalaby, an activist and archaeologist. "He acted as if he owned Egypt's antiquities, and not that they belonged to the people of Egypt."

Here's hoping his successor will continue to campaign for the exploration of Aegypt's past, as well as the preservation of its antiquities.

Bravely protecting history

Human Shield of Civilians Protects Egypt's Museums

Egypt's ancient treasures appear to be safe today, after citizens, and later the military, banded together to stop looters amid an uprising that left some of the world's most prized artifacts perilously vulnerable to common thieves.

Egyptians, desperate to protect their country's heritage from the kind of mass looting that devastated Baghdad's museums in 2003, created a kind of human shield around Cairo's Egyptian Museum this week, linking arms in front of the historic site and chasing down vandals who had managed to enter the building after it was abandoned by the country's police.

And it's not just museums...

Ismail Serageldin, the director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, thanked Egypt's young people for protecting the library's historic collection. "The library is safe thanks to Egypt's youth, whether they be the staff of the Library or the representatives of the demonstrators, who are joining us in guarding the building from potential vandals and looters," Serageldin wrote on the library's website.

Hurrah for these volunteer guardians!

Broken and missing treasures amid the chaos

Looters smash treasures and mummies in Egyptian Museum

Looters broke into the Cairo museum housing the world's greatest collection of Pharaonic treasures, smashing several statues and damaging two mummies, while police battled anti-government protesters on the streets.

Let's hope no other historical artefacts are destroyed or stolen during the present chaotic environment there. It could have been worse. The building next door, which was not part of the museum, was torched. Of course, it's not over by a long shot.

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Good night!

History belongs to everyone, but cultures shouldn't be looted by others

So it was nice to hear that Greece is displaying repatriated artefacts, returned from several countries and museums. They're still butting heads with the British Museum over the Elgin Marbles, but that's rather to be expected--they're a lot bigger than a few coins or a vase.

Who knows what kind of thing is going on in Iraq these days, with its rich Sumerian and Babylonian history? With lawlessness comes looting of antiquities, and with war comes their destruction.

Anyway, I'm glad Greece got back some of their cultural items.

Greece displays repatriated antiquities

Italy is also getting some of theirs back--lost Byzantine frescoes that had been ripped from a church 27 years ago and wound up in a private collection in Greece.

Italy recovers lost Byzantine frescos from Greece

Thanks to Melissa Snell's mediaeval history blog for the links.