Archeology and History

Egypt’s Malawi museum looted amid violence, says ministry

By | 2013-08-16T16:42:03-04:00 August 16th, 2013|Archeology and History|

  Egypt’s Malawi National Museum was damaged and looted by rioters during the clashes that have erupted throughout the country, reported Ahram online on Thursday.   The museum, in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya, was allegedly broken into and some artifacts were damaged and stolen, according to a statement made by the Ministry of

Boy finds ‘mummy’ in grandmother’s attic in Germany

By | 2013-08-11T00:38:30-04:00 August 11th, 2013|Archeology and History|

  A 10-year-old German boy discovered what may be an ancient Egyptian mummy hidden in a corner of his grandmother’s attic, reported The Telegraph.   Alexander Kettler found the “mummy” inside a sarcophagus covered with hieroglyphics while searching around his grandmother’s flat in Diepholz, northern Germany.   It was unclear if the item was a

Egypt security forces recover ancient golden statues

By | 2013-08-10T13:43:21-04:00 August 10th, 2013|Archeology and History|

  Security forces in the Upper Egypt governorate of Qena have recovered six ancient golden statues from two men, a local news agency reported Thursday.   The men, whose identities were not revealed, were traveling from the governorate of Asyut to Qena, 800 kilometers south of the capital Cairo.   The items, which vary in

UNESCO takes Iran’s Bam citadel off danger list

By | 2013-06-18T12:21:27-04:00 June 18th, 2013|Archeology and History|

    Iran's ancient citadel of Bam, almost completely destroyed by a major earthquake in 2003, has been removed from the UNESCO list of "World Heritage in Danger", a spokesman said Tuesday.   The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization committee, which began its annual session in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Sunday,

UNESCO team finds damage to Mali culture alarming

By | 2013-06-08T02:06:55-04:00 June 8th, 2013|Archeology and History|

A team of experts led by UNESCO said Friday it has found far more serious damage to Mali’s cultural heritage in the fabled city of Timbuktu than initially estimated, with 16 mausoleums totally destroyed and over 4,000 ancient manuscripts lost.   Lazare Eloundou Assomo of UNESCO’s World Heritage Center, who led the mission, said a

Chinese parents apologize after son vandalizes ancient Egyptian sculpture

By | 2013-05-27T23:05:24-04:00 May 27th, 2013|Archeology and History|

The parents of a Chinese teenager have apologized after their son vandalized an ancient Egyptian sculpture with graffiti.   “We want to apologize to the Egyptian people, and to people who have paid attention to this case across China,” his mother told local newspaper Modern Express on Saturday.   The 15-year-old tourist carved “Ding Jinhao

Old Sana’a, an endangered UNESCO heritage site

By | 2013-04-28T23:01:39-04:00 April 28th, 2013|Archeology and History|

To see Sana'a’s Old City for the first time is like “a vision of a childhood dream world of fantasy castles,” a visitor once remarked, but official neglect and unruly construction are threatening to destroy that magic.   Yemen’s capital is one of the most ancient cities in the world, and entering its oldest quarter

UNESCO threatens to axe old Sanaa from world heritage list

By | 2013-03-17T23:04:05-04:00 March 17th, 2013|Archeology and History|

Famous for its unique mud brick tower houses and labyrinthine souqs and listed as a world heritage site by the United Nations, Yemen’s old city of Sanaa is now under serious threat.   The entire area was declared a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1986; in

Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra on brink of destruction

By | 2013-03-16T01:06:03-04:00 March 16th, 2013|Archeology and History|

As the Syrian crisis enters its third year, an end to the violence in the country is nowhere to be seen. The world has become accustomed to rising death tolls and reports of shelling and destruction. However, another threat looms in Syria, and this time it is targeting its cultural heritage.   Palmyra, one of

Top Egypt archaeologist sees hope for future in past

By | 2013-02-16T01:44:13-04:00 February 16th, 2013|Archeology and History|

The keeper of Egypt’s archaeological treasures sees hope for the nation’s future in its pharaonic past.   Mohammed Ibrahim, head of the antiquities ministry, likens Egypt’s turbulent emergence from autocracy to the periods of decline that afflicted the nation on the Nile between the fall and rise of its three ancient kingdoms.   “We have