It is being widely reported that looters were able to enter the Egyptian Museum and damaged at least two important displays.
What is of concern is that Egypt has been at the front line along with Italy and Greece in efforts to have antiquities “repatriated”, in the case of Egypt, to have all antiquities that ever left Egypt returned.
I would hope that this is an isolated incident and if the Mubarack regime falls, let’s hope that Radical Islamic fundamentalists do not take power and decide that such items should be destroyed. As tragic as these events are, they certainly underscore the need for debate on the current trend of a pro-nationalist approach to archaeology and museums.
Imagine if the British Museum had returned the Rosetta Stone and it had been prominently displayed in the lobby of the Egyptian Museum?
