Millions of artifacts potentially destroyed in Brazil museum fire

The National Museum of Brazil was engulfed in flames Sunday night.

(Image credit: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

A fire that broke out in Brazil's oldest museum on Sunday night is believed to have destroyed many of the 20 million items in its collection, The Guardian reports. The National Museum, in Rio de Janeiro, is 200 years old, and scholars had complained for years about its underfunding and desperate need for repairs.

The fire "is an unbearable catastrophe," said Luiz Duarte, a vice-director of the museum. "It is 200 years of this country's heritage. It is 200 years of memory. It is 200 years of science. It is 200 years of culture, of education." The museum's collection included priceless items such as Egyptian artifacts, the oldest human skeleton in the Americas, and the largest meteorite ever found in Brazil.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.