Pipe burst at Louvre damages 300-400 rare books in Egyptian antiquities library collection

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Hundreds of rare books were damaged when a pipe burst inside the Louvre’s Egyptian antiquities library, a setback that comes just weeks after the museum was rocked by a brazen jewel heist.

The museum’s deputy administrator, Francis Steinbock, told BFM TV that the flooding happened in one of the three rooms housing the Egyptian antiquities library.

“We have identified between 300 and 400 works, the count is ongoing,” he said, adding that “no precious books” were lost. Many of the damaged items were periodicals and archaeology journals regularly used by Egyptologists.

Steinbock said staff were still assessing the full number of damaged books and had begun drying those soaked in the flooding, including dehumidifying them page by page with Buffar