A 
thriving market for antiquities in the west is behind the looting of Egypt's heritage, says Barry Kemp, [...] Archaeological sites are normally protected by the Tourist and Antiquities Police. All branches of internal security seem to have been disrupted and in the atmosphere of uncertainty the wolves have come out. The main targets of robbers are the antiquities storerooms. It is impossible to know at the moment how bad the overall situation is. The most useful thing the international community can do about this is to examine its conscience. The looting of sites is done to satisfy the market in antiquities, which continues to flourish in Europe and the US. It is now a reasonable assumption that any Egyptian piece that is for sale is either fake or was looted.
Jo Marchant, '
Egyptologist: The west is driving looting', New Scientist issue 2804,
22 March 2011
