Eight ancient artifacts were stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square on 28 January during the protests calling for the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt announced today.
Protesters said they apprehended policemen attempting to steal items from the museum and handed them over to the army.
Police withdrew from Greater Cairo on Friday 28 January after clashes with angry protesters.
In a statement on Sunday, Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass said that the missing objects are a gilded wood statue of the 18th dynasty king Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BC) being carried by a goddess, the torso and upper limbs of a gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun harpooning, a limestone statue of Akhenaten holding an offering table, a statue of Nefertiti making offerings, a sandstone head of an Amarna princess, a stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna, wooden shabti statuettes from Yuya, and a heart scarab of Yuya.
It was discovered that the artifacts were missing during a museum stock-check.
Seventy pieces, meanwhile, were broken.
Hawass said investigations have been launched to arrest the thieves–those who were not arrested while attempting to escape on 28 January–and restore the missing items.
