Following a detailed archaeological inventory on the collection of artefacts stored in the Qantara-East warehouse, some 800 objects from the ancient Egyptian, Graeco and Islamic eras were found missing.

The objects derived from archaeological sites in Ismailia as well as North and South Sinai, which have been scientifically documented and published. The missing objects include of a large collection of clay vessels, bronze coins, scarabs, and amulets, as well as wooden arrows, textiles, amphora and a headless limestone statue inscribed with hieroglyphic text.

Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, director of the Central Administration for Antiquities in Alexandria and Lower Egypt, said that a complete list of the missing objects is to be sent to the prosecutor general as well as to Interpol to help in their retrieval.

At this time, he continued, the collection of the Qantara-East warehouse is safe after being removed to the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which is guarded by army forces.

“We have to announce the result of such an inventory to the media in order to provide transparency, and due to our keenness to follow all procedures to recover the missing artefacts,” Abdel Maqsoud told Ahram Online.