Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Eugene

(61,592 posts)
Sat May 11, 2019, 05:09 AM May 2019

Brazil National Museum: 'Little surprises' salvaged from the ashes

Source: BBC

Brazil National Museum: 'Little surprises' salvaged from the ashes

By Tim Whewell & Jéssica Cruz
BBC News

11 May 2019

Many Brazilians wept after their 200-year-old National Museum was destroyed in a devastating fire last September. Twenty million objects, many of them irreplaceable, were thought to have been lost. But eight months later, staff have salvaged more treasures than they expected, and there are hopes that one of the great museums of the world can be brought back to life.

Suddenly, a shout echoes round the blackened, roofless shell of the once-elegant room.

A tall young man in white helmet and black gloves is standing triumphantly on a pile of smashed tiles and plaster. Cradled in his palm is a small piece of carved stone with ancient hieroglyphics.

Pedro Luiz von Seehausen is an archaeologist, an expert on ancient Egyptian funerary monuments, who travels regularly to the Nile Valley to help excavate millennia-old pharaonic tombs.

Ironically - tragically - von Seehausen is wielding his trowel, using his archaeological training, to excavate his own workplace - to re-uncover ancient treasures that had already been uncovered by archaeologists in Egypt two centuries ago, but which were buried again when their new home, the National Museum of Brazil, went up in flames.

-snip-


Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48023691


A fragment of a damaged stone slab recording the deceased (Douglas Engle)


Pedro Luiz von Seehausen searches through the rubble (Douglas Engle)
Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Latin America»Brazil National Museum: '...