Just weeks after a daring jewel heist sparked international concern, the Louvre Museum suffered a water leak that damaged hundreds of rare books in its Egyptian antiquities ' library.

Newsweek reached out to the Louvre by email Sunday for comment.

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Francis Steinbock, the museum's deputy administrator, told BFM TV on Sunday that a water pipe leak last month severely damaged between 300 and 400 documents in the department.

La Tribune de l'Art, a specialist art website, reported that the leak occurred November 27 and was not discovered until it had soaked into the floor below, making some of the books and bindings "irretrievable."

Steinbock said the leak affected one of three rooms in the department's library, with the affected works primarily being archaeologica

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