<p>Tanks roll into Tahrir Square outside the <a href="http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/">Egyptian Museum</a> in <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110131-egypt-egyptian-museum-zahi-hawass-mubarak-science-world-cairo-tombs/Cairo">Cairo</a> on Sunday, January 30, 2011. During the chaotic protests two nights before, would-be looters broke into the 108-year-old building through a skylight, according to official reports. The vandals damaged mummies and artifacts but were arrested before they could make off with anything.</p><p>(See <a id="mlcp" title=""Egypt Treasures Looted, but Public Strikes Back."" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110131-egypt-egyptian-museum-zahi-hawass-mubarak-science-world-cairo-tombs/">"Egypt Treasures Looted, but Public Strikes Back."</a>)</p><p><em>—Ann R. Williams, </em>National Geographic<em> magazine senior writer and regional editor</em></p>
Egyptian Museum
Tanks roll into Tahrir Square outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on Sunday, January 30, 2011. During the chaotic protests two nights before, would-be looters broke into the 108-year-old building through a skylight, according to official reports. The vandals damaged mummies and artifacts but were arrested before they could make off with anything.
(See "Egypt Treasures Looted, but Public Strikes Back.")
—Ann R. Williams, National Geographic magazine senior writer and regional editor
Pictures: Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Damaged in Looting
Mummies were decapitated and statues were snapped apart by looters at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as mass protests seized Egypt.
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