Last week, the Louvre Museum in France experienced a flooding incident due to a leak in the heating and cooling system pipelines, causing at least 300 to 400 items in the Egyptian Antiquities Library to be damaged. Currently, drying and restoration operations are underway.
According to Francis Steinbock, the Deputy General Administrator of the Louvre, the Egyptian Antiquities Library has three rooms, one of which suffered water leakage and damage to the collections due to a burst pipeline. They are currently assessing the affected collections, some of which are several hundred years old, with some dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The heating and ventilation system valves, which had been closed for several months, were inexplicably opened at some point, leading to water seeping into the ceiling of the Mollien room where the books were stored. The leakage was discovered on November 26, and the dampened collections include historical documents, Egyptian periodicals, and archaeological journals that were frequently used by scholars and researchers in the past.
The Louvre Museum has initiated a drying process using Buffard paper and dehumidifying equipment to dry the items page by page. Fortunately, the damp items have not suffered irreversible damage. These documents will be air-dried, sent to the bookbinding facility for restoration, and then returned to the library for display.
Steinbock reassured that “no cultural heritage items have been affected.” He stated that “the affected collections have not yet experienced irreparable or permanent losses.”
The Louvre Museum will conduct an internal investigation and plans to undergo a major renovation of its ventilation and heating systems in September next year, with the area of the burst pipelines included in the renovation scope.
This flooding incident, along with the globally shocking jewelry theft in October, has raised concerns about the safety management and protection of cultural assets at the Louvre Museum.
In November, the Louvre announced a hike in ticket prices for most non-EU visitors, raising the ticket price to 32 euros (approximately 37 US dollars). The museum stated that the 45% increase aims to boost revenue for improving the museum’s infrastructure, with an expected annual income of 23 million US dollars.
Being the most visited museum globally, the Louvre Museum welcomed a total of 8.7 million visitors in 2024, with 69% of them coming from overseas.
Paris prosecutors reported that on October 19, four thieves broke into the Louvre in less than 8 minutes and stole eight pieces of royal jewelry valued at about 88 million euros (approximately 120 million US dollars). Authorities are still investigating the stolen jewelry.
It was reported that four male suspects have been arrested, with three captured in October. DNA evidence was found at the scene and on related items. Another suspect was apprehended in November, and all suspects face charges of organized robbery and conspiracy.
In October, another woman was arrested and accused of conspiracy to commit theft and criminal conspiracy. She denied involvement.
(Adapted from reports by NBC and AFP)