Overview
- The Louvre says 300 to 400 printed works in its Egyptology library were affected, but staff report the materials were not destroyed.
- The damaged items include 19th- and early 20th-century Egyptology journals and scientific documentation heavily used by researchers.
- The incident was discovered at the end of November and traced to an accidentally opened valve in the library’s heating and ventilation hydraulic system.
- Conservators are drying the soaked volumes before sending them to a bookbinder, with the goal of returning them to the shelves.
- The museum remains under scrutiny for infrastructure issues and crowding after an October theft, and director Laurence des Cars has announced a mobile police post and 100 additional cameras by year-end.