A tour guide in Egypt was arrested after drawing on the 4,000-year-old Pyramid of Unas in Saqqara, an act that was captured on camera and quickly sparked widespread outrage on social media. Footage shared online showed the guide using chalk to illustrate a point for a group of tourists, an action that was immediately condemned as defacing an ancient monument. The video also captured a heated confrontation between the guide and the person filming.
What happened in the video?
Footage that was widely shared online showed the tour guide using chalk to draw on the Pyramid of Unas in Saqqara, Egypt. He was apparently drawing a diagram to explain something to a group of tourists.
The person filming the video was seen confronting the tour guide for defacing an ancient monument, only to be met with resistance. The tour guide started arguing with the filmer, reportedly asking him, “Are you sane?”
What action was taken against the tour guide?
According to a report in Egypt Today, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior launched an investigation into the incident after the video went viral.
{{/usCountry}}According to a report in Egypt Today, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior launched an investigation into the incident after the video went viral.
{{/usCountry}}The Saqqara Tourist Police Station received a report from a local antiquities inspector alleging that a tour guide had defaced a monument by drawing on the outer casing of a pyramid while leading a group of tourists, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The tour guide was arrested and admitted to drawing on the pyramid during questioning by the police.
What did the tour guide say?
Egyptian news website El-Shai identified the tour guide as one Rami Al-Amir.
Amir apologised for writing on the Unas Pyramid, saying he made a “grave mistake” while emphasizing his respect and love for Egypt’s antiquities.
Egypt’s Ministry of Interior added that the chalk drawing was removed from the pyramid.
More about the Pyramid of Unas
The Pyramid of Unas is located in Saqqara, an ancient burial ground near Memphis in Egypt. It was built in the 24th century BCE, for Pharaoh Unas, the last ruler of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty.
Though smaller than the famous pyramids at Giza, it is very important because it contains the earliest known Pyramid Texts — inscriptions on the walls that were meant to help the king in the afterlife. The pyramid is part of a larger necropolis at Saqqara, which served as a royal cemetery for centuries.
(Also read: Researchers identify 2,000 year-old Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions inside royal tombs in Egypt)