<p><strong>Pharaonic faces stare out from charred pages in Cairo's <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/egypt-guide/">Egyptian</a> Scientific Complex on Monday. The documents are among thousands of precious historic works damaged or destroyed by a fire that consumed the structure over the weekend.</strong></p><strong> </strong> <p>Now in danger of collapsing, the complex, also known as the Institut d'Égypte, caught fire on Saturday during clashes between protesters and army soldiers near <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/egypt/tahrir-square-cairo/">Tahrir Square</a>.</p> <p>"It's a huge shock. It's a gorgeous building and there are some really important ancient manuscripts and printed materials contained there," said UCLA Egyptologist <a href="http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/people/faculty/wendrich/">Willeke Wendrich</a>.</p> <p>Founded by Napoleon in 1798, the Institut d'Égypte is dedicated to the advancement of scientific research. Its complex housed nearly 200,000 documents and manuscripts, some dating back to the 1500s.</p> <p>(Related: <a href="http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/17/egypt_confirms_saqqara_looting/">"Egypt Confirms Looting, Vandalism of Saqqara and Other Antiquity Sites."</a>)<br> <br><em>—Ker Than</em></p>