Countering

Looting Activities in Post-2011 Egypt
the Italian-American archaeological mission were damaged. The Coptic site of Ansina
has also been heavily looted, particularly the rock-cut structures behind Dayr al-Batul.
The looters use dynamite bought from nearby quarries, thinking hidden treasures lie
behind the rock-cut monks’ cells, keep and church. Amarna has also been targeted and
several parts of the ancient city have been land-grabbed. The remains of Amarna are
now disappearing, in fact, underneath the neighbouring villages.
Assiut. Dayr al-Bersha has witnessed several looting attacks on the rock-cut tombs.
The most recent case was on the tomb of Djehutyhotep II, where the looters hacked
out a small slab of approximately 30 cm in length and 24 cm in width. Several
tombs of the First Intermediate Period (2181-2055 BC) in the area have been
looted and many of their inscriptions were hacked out for sale. Several people
were arrested in the village of Abu Tij. In Assiut, antiquities, drugs and arms are
smuggled for mutual exchange, especially in the area of Dayrut and Bayadiya.
Sohaj. Sohaj’s main illicit area is concentrated in Akhmim. Temple remains were recently
discovered under a house right next to the archaeological site. Modern graves have also
been built upon the archaeological site, despite the efforts of the local unit that provided
another cemetery. Abydos has also suffered sporadic looting attempts, particularly in the
aftermath of the 2011 uprising. Umm al-Ga’ab has been subjected to several attacks as well.
Luxor. Illicit digging in Luxor has been minimal compared to other areas in Egypt. Looting
activities were noted in Nag’ al-Sawalem and Dab’iya, but on a very small scale. Towards the
south of Luxor, the area of Gebelein has been badly looted and built upon. The unique First
Intermediate Period tombs that were excavated by Schiaparelli were heavily destroyed.
Aswan. Aswan has witnessed sporadic looting in various villages, but the most
notable were the Middle and New Kingdom tombs found by the locals near
the tombs of the nobles on the West Bank (al-Meniawy 2013). These tombs
were discovered by the villagers who occupied them for more than a year. They did
not allow local authorities to inspect them. After they emptied the tombs from their
objects, they brought tourists to see the tombs and took ‘ticket’ prices from them.
Western Desert. The Western Desert has witnessed systematic illegal digging
sometimes from the villagers and most often by the organized gangs. Many of the
sites in Bahariya, Kharga and Dakhla were raided and some of the sites discovered
by the looters were not even known by the local authorities. In Kharga Oasis, sites
near the village of Tunis that are not registered were looted as well as many of the
registered sites. In Bahariya Oasis, the remains in Jabal Mandisha were dug illicitly.
In Dakhla Oasis, the sites of Shaykh Wali and Masara were also heavily looted.
Eastern Desert. Several of the sites in the Eastern Desert were targeted, but the most
famous looting accident was when a car of looters went in search of a ‘temple’ between
Qena and al-Quseir and six members were lost and died on the way, while one was rescued.
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