News from the Valley of the Kings

From Dr Hawass (my bold):

I am very sad to announce that several important antiquities sites have been vandalized. After a preliminary inventory had been taken, Dr. Sabri Abdel Aziz, Head of the Pharaonic Sector of the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs, reported to me the following incidents: At Saqqara, the tomb of Hetepka was broken into, and the false door may have been stolen along with objects stored in the tomb. I have arranged for a committee to visit the tomb this coming Saturday to compare the alleged damage with earlier expedition photos. In Abusir, a portion of the false door was stolen from the tomb of Rahotep. In addition, break-ins have been confirmed at a number of storage magazines: these include ones in Saqqara, including one near the pyramid of Teti, and the magazine of Cairo University.

I posted up the latest article from the new Minsiter of Antiquities which is very reassuring that looting is under control.  In the interests of balance, I wanted to share this alternative view in the British National press.  (The Sun has a reputation for sensationalism and sometimes fanciful coverage, but sections seem to have a ring of truth to them.)  My thanks to Ingeborg Waanders for sharing this heartbreaking article.

Hundreds of thieves yesterday swarmed like locusts over a revered site in the shadow of the pyramids - taking advantage of the chaos to ransack the House of the Temple of Osiris. 

...

It was worst at the sites below the pyramids marking the tombs of the pharaohs Neferefre and Sahure, which are among the oldest in Egypt dating back to 2475 BC.

 There is also a picture of gangs digging, supposedly taken at Abusir.  The Sun also claims that 3,000 articles were taken from the magazine at Qantara; others were smashed.  In that case, the return of 288 items reported by the Minster for Antiquities is a drop in the ocean.

Everything is safe at the site of Abusir,” he said. “Nothing has been stolen from Abusir.”