El Badil Newspaper exposed another huge disaster taking place in the archaeological site of Abu Sir Al Malaq on the borders between Fayoum and Bani Sawif.
It is just sad to see the video till the end. The site is looted as you see and the mummies are torn and left in the sun , it is horrifying and disrespectful even to throw the bones and mummies like this. It is just sad.
There is no security what so ever in the site and sadly enough the locals after the revolution come at night and dig. From what I see in the video , they dig the site and smash the beautiful colored wooden sarcophagus.
Whole tombs are destroyed and written records from papyrus and plates are destroyed.
In a country like Egypt , in these rural areas the unofficial digging in areas can not happen without being noticed by the officials in the city mainly the police. I am tired of the claims that the revolution brought down the police force when the police already is not trying to do any effort to do its duty. The digging was systematic and not amateurish thing in some areas in the site.
Already from what I see in the video there is no official follow up to the site to the level I wonder where the state was even. before the revolution
Egyptologist Monica Hana spoke in this video about what happened to the site. Already the site is extremely old and its history as burial site goes back to the pre-dynastic age. This burial site includes tombs from the 17th dynasty up to the Coptic era. Hana added that the digging is unprofessional and thus the tombs are destroyed. It is sad. She believes that there are organized gangs involved in the digging and raiding of the tombs. The amazing archaeology activist suggests that state should build a small museum in the city of Abu Sir in order to gather the remaining mummies and to put it there. Her idea is that this museums will provide jobs for the locals and also will give them pride.
The site is also important for the science of mummification but unfortunately no luck for the scientists and Egyptologists.
The site is originally named after deity Osiris and amazing it is new info to me that the word “Abu Sir” in Arabic comes originally from the word Osiris. There are many locations in Egypt called Abu Sir like in Alexandria and even there is a tale in the Arabian Nights called “Abu Sir and Abu Kir” . There is another Abu Sir necropolis in Giza also that has been looted too.
Unfortunately when I know that the locals dig unofficial and rob these sites , I remember the fatwas of Sheikhs like Sheikh Mohamed Hassan and how it plays a destructive role in the life of the people in rural area.
The state is officially responsible whether the ministry of antiquities or the ministry of interior or the governorates of Fayoum and Bani Sawif.
Abu Sir Al Malaq : Looting and destruction
It is just sad to see the video till the end. The site is looted as you see and the mummies are torn and left in the sun , it is horrifying and disrespectful even to throw the bones and mummies like this. It is just sad.
There is no security what so ever in the site and sadly enough the locals after the revolution come at night and dig. From what I see in the video , they dig the site and smash the beautiful colored wooden sarcophagus.
Whole tombs are destroyed and written records from papyrus and plates are destroyed.
In a country like Egypt , in these rural areas the unofficial digging in areas can not happen without being noticed by the officials in the city mainly the police. I am tired of the claims that the revolution brought down the police force when the police already is not trying to do any effort to do its duty. The digging was systematic and not amateurish thing in some areas in the site.
Already from what I see in the video there is no official follow up to the site to the level I wonder where the state was even. before the revolution
Egyptologist Monica Hana spoke in this video about what happened to the site. Already the site is extremely old and its history as burial site goes back to the pre-dynastic age. This burial site includes tombs from the 17th dynasty up to the Coptic era. Hana added that the digging is unprofessional and thus the tombs are destroyed. It is sad. She believes that there are organized gangs involved in the digging and raiding of the tombs. The amazing archaeology activist suggests that state should build a small museum in the city of Abu Sir in order to gather the remaining mummies and to put it there. Her idea is that this museums will provide jobs for the locals and also will give them pride.
The site is also important for the science of mummification but unfortunately no luck for the scientists and Egyptologists.
The site is originally named after deity Osiris and amazing it is new info to me that the word “Abu Sir” in Arabic comes originally from the word Osiris. There are many locations in Egypt called Abu Sir like in Alexandria and even there is a tale in the Arabian Nights called “Abu Sir and Abu Kir” . There is another Abu Sir necropolis in Giza also that has been looted too.
Unfortunately when I know that the locals dig unofficial and rob these sites , I remember the fatwas of Sheikhs like Sheikh Mohamed Hassan and how it plays a destructive role in the life of the people in rural area.
The state is officially responsible whether the ministry of antiquities or the ministry of interior or the governorates of Fayoum and Bani Sawif.
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