The Cairo Egyptian Museum Looting

During the Arab Spring uprising against President Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo — home to the world's largest collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities — was broken into on the night of January 28, 2011. Looters smashed display cases and stole dozens of artifacts, including two mummified remains. Civilian volunteers and military personnel formed a human chain around the museum to protect it. Most stolen items were later recovered, but the incident highlighted the vulnerability of irreplaceable cultural heritage during political upheaval.