Home / Crime and Justice / Tour Guide Defaces Ancient Pyramid with Chalk!
Tour Guide Defaces Ancient Pyramid with Chalk!
26 Feb
Summary
- A tour guide was arrested for drawing on a 4,000-year-old pyramid.
- The incident occurred at the Saqqara archaeological site near Cairo.
- The guide faces a year in prison and a significant fine if convicted.
A guide was arrested near Cairo after being recorded defacing a 4,000-year-old pyramid with chalk. The incident at the Saqqara site involved drawings made on a monument near the Pyramid of Unas. Footage of the act quickly gained traction online, leading to an investigation by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior.
The guide confessed to making the marks and has been temporarily suspended from his work. His chalk illustrations were subsequently removed by the Saqqara Antiquities Department. The guide attributed his actions to overexcitement on his first day back at work in four years, calling it an "unforgivable mistake."
Archaeology experts have cautioned that chalk's chemicals can cause erosion on ancient stones. The guide now faces legal proceedings and potential penalties, including up to a year in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 EGP for damaging an antiquity. The Tour Guides' Syndicate has characterized the event as an isolated incident.
