All 700 Egyptian relics in Brazil’s National Museum destroyed: Antiquities Ministry

Daily News Egypt
3 Min Read

The Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri announced that the primely reports on the fire of Brazil National Museum in Rio De Janeiro shows that all of the 700 Egyptian artefacts were destroyed after fire broke into the hall dedicated to Pharaohs’ belongings in the museum.

The Ministry of Antiquities announced that it has been closely following with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is reaching the museum for the reports. The fire tore into the museum’s rooms last Sunday, which contained 20m artefacts, totally damaging the most precious gems in the history of antiquities.

He added that Egypt’s Consult in Rio De Janeiro is trying to reach the museum’s head of Egyptology, in order to know the exact states of the moments and the destruction phase. 

According to state-owned media outlet Ahram Online, the Egyptian artefacts included collectibles of Brazilian Emperor Pedro I, founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil, which he purchased in the 19th century from antiquities merchants. It also featured five mummies, one of which was kept in a sarcophagus and gifted by Egyptian Khedive Ismail to Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II during his visit to Egypt in the 19th century.

Waziri asserted that the reports state that fire broke into all the museum’s sections leading to severe destruction.

The museum, which was previously a 19th-century royal palace, was eaten by fire due to what is believed to be an electric power system defect.

The Brazilian government is accused of taking part in the fire, by cutting off financial aids to renovate the museum, despite continuous requests by its staff over several years.

For their side, Egypt’s Consult in Rio De Janeiro conveyed Egypt’s authorities’ message to the Brazilian side, in which both Ministries of Antiquities and Foreign Affairs offered assistance in restoring the surviving antiquities.

  

Meanwhile, Waziri expressed his severe regret concerning what he described as a “massive loss to humanity and human heritage.” He added that the ministry is willing to provide the Rio De Janeiro Museum with all the needed artistic and archaeological help, as well as provide them with human knowhow to restore the surviving damaged relics, in the event of the Brazilian government’s request.

The museum’s fire loss extended to destroyed the remains of a woman named ‘Luzia,’ the oldest human remains ever discovered in Latin America. The museum also contained dinosaur fossil remains, and various Roman artefacts.

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