Sinai antiquities museum damaged in terrorist attack
The Art Newspaper
February 4, 2015
© Ahram Online
Collection, moved into basement and offsite storage since 2013, survives destruction.
The Al-Arish Museum in the north of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was severely damaged last week during simultaneous terrorist attacks across the region that left 30 people dead and at least 60 others injured.
The head of the Ministry of Antiquities (MSA) museum section, Ahmed Sharaf, speaking with Ahram Online, said that the front of the building and one side were destroyed, some ceilings collapsed and windows were shattered.
A side building also collapsed. Sharaf told the Cairo Post that all of the objects survived the destruction, as they had either been stored in the museum’s basement or had been transferred to another facility.
The terrorist group “State of Sinai” claimed responsibility for the attack, which was focused on the headquarters of the Al-Arish security directorate, near the museum. The group has launched repeated attacks in the area in recent years, using car bombs and rockets against government and military institutions. A similar attack in October last year left 31 soldiers dead.
The Al-Arish Museum, which cost around $5m to build, opened in 2008 but has been closed to visitors since July 2013. It had around 1,500 artefacts on permanent display, spanning the full history of Egypt with a focus on objects excavated in the Sinai region.
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