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Over the past two weeks attempts have been made by the Egyptian authorities to play down the news of the looting of archaeological sites and archaeological storerooms Zahi Hawass today announces ('Sad News') that in another terrible turn of events, last night a magazine in Dahshur was broken into; it is called De Morgan’s. This magazine contains large blocks and small artifacts.Have a look at Dashur on Google Earth, the reason why this site was felt to be one of the safest in the pyramid fields is that there is a huge army base right next to it. We've been assured that the army has been protecting sites and magazines since the beginning of February. So why was it possible to break into this site last night? Some commentators have raised the question of when the break-in actually occurred and whether there are reasons why its looting is only now, the day after Mubarak 'abdicated', this news becomes public. Is the underlying message that the army is unable to look after these sites by itself?
Vignette: Dashur, bent pyramid, after EgyptTourInfo