The end of the pyramids?

[starman2012]

And what would be found inside the stone mountain? Surely there is more in there than just limestone.

They long ago found passageways and a tomb--robbed in ancient times(?)

[Eleatic Guest]

New Destruction of Timbuktu Mausoleums:

At least three mausoleums in Mali were reportedly destroyed on 23 December, including that of the Al Hassan and Al Houseyni twins, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said.

[66kbm]

Prior to my previous post.....they must have gone...no longer visible.
kevin

[Eleatic Guest]

Mali: Timbuktu mayor says Islamists burned texts

Fleeing Islamist extremists torched a library containing historic manuscripts in Timbuktu, the mayor said Monday, as French and Malian forces closed in on Mali’s fabled desert city.

[Sean Manning]

A great and terrible disaster, whose exact size will only become known in the coming months. Until then I may be heard to rumble about orc-minded hackers and burners.

The English media have a number of stories that a large fraction of the manuscripts are in private hands, and that some of their owners have been hiding or evacuating them for months (example and example).

[M. Demetrius]

We have met the enemy, and we are afraid to use his name.

[Sean Manning]

It is beginning to look like the world has been spared another Louvain. This comes through Dr. Steven Muhlberger in Ontario:

Since the start of this week there are reports about the destruction of library buildings and book collections in Timbuktu. It sounds as if the written heritage of the town went up in flames. According to our information this is not the case at all. The custodians of the libraries worked quietly throughout the rebel occupation of Timbuktu to ensure the safety of their materials. A limited number of items have been damaged or stolen, the infrastructure neglected and furnishings in the Ahmad Baba Institute library looted but from all our local sources – all intimately connected with the public and private collections in the town - there was no malicious destruction of any library or collection.

http://www.tombouctoumanuscripts.org/blo...ktu_update

I thought I used a pretty clear name for these iconoclasts, and the Anglo media have used another.

[Robert Vermaat]

The custodians of the libraries worked quietly throughout the rebel occupation of Timbuktu to ensure the safety of their materials.

Well, I have a name for these people: HEROES

[M. Demetrius]

I agree with that, Robert! A salute to the librarians!

[Sean Manning]

The custodians of the libraries worked quietly throughout the rebel occupation of Timbuktu to ensure the safety of their materials.

Well, I have a name for these people: HEROES

Yes! It is easy to talk about the importance of protecting antiquities, and toss a few bucks in the kitty for an excavation or a local museum, but a lot of Malians put their lives on the line to do so.

They obviously have very good reason to not say a lot to the English and French press until order is restored in the north, and given the state of Mali since a clique of junior officers siezed power in March 2012 that may not be soon. But this is very good news.