Vandals ripped the heads off two mummies and tossed relics onto the ground in Cairo's Egyptian Museum, the country's antiquities chief said early Sunday. ARTKABINETT social network of independent fine art collectors cherishes freedom, but never at the expense of art destruction.
But the group of about nine people did not manage to steal anything from the museum's collection, according to Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The would-be thieves, who broke into the museum Friday around 6 p.m., were arrested and jailed, Hawass said.
The museum has stepped up security and is now guarded by Egypt's army, he said. The antiquities chief said 10 small artifacts were also damaged, but can be restored.
The Egyptian Museum is located in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which has been a focal point for anti-government protests.
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities.
It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms.
The following information pertains to the state of the museum prior to the Egyptian rebellion:
The museum's Royal Mummy Room, containing 27 royal mummies from pharaonic times, was closed on the orders of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
It was reopened, with a slightly curtailed display of New Kingdom kings and queens in 1985. Today there are about 9 mummies displayed. One of them is the newly discovered mummy of Queen Hatshepsut.
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It houses the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen. The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Ezbekeyah Garden. 
The museum soon moved to Boulaq in 1858 because the original building was getting to be too small to hold all of the artifacts.
In 1855, shortly after the artifacts were moved, Duke Maximilian of Austria was given all of the artifacts. He hired a French architect to design and construct a new museum for the antiquities.
The new building was to be constructed on the bank of the Nile River in Boulaq. In 1878, after the museum has been completed for some time, it suffered some irreversible damage; a flood of the Nile River caused the antiquities to be relocated to another museum, in Giza.
The artifacts remained there until 1902 when they were moved, for the last time, to the current museum in Tahrir Square.
Tutankhamun
Unlike many tombs discovered in Egypt, that of King Tutankhamun was found mostly intact. Inside the tomb there was a large collection of artifacts used throughout the King’s life.
These artifacts ranged from a decorated chest, which was most likely used as a closet or suitcase, two ivory and gold bracelets, necklaces, and other decorative jewelry, to alabaster vases and flasks.
The tomb was also home to many weapons and instruments used by the King. Although the tomb held over 3,500 artifacts, the tomb was not found completely intact.
In fact, there had been at least two robberies of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamun's burial.
The best known artifact in King Tutankhamun’s tomb is the famous Gold Mask (pictured here), which rested over the bandages that were wrapped around the King’s face.
The mask weighs in at 11 kg (24.5 pounds) of solid gold, and is believed to represent what the King’s face really looked like.
