History Reduced to Ashes: Twitter Laments Loss of Rio Museum

Brazil’s National Museum was hit by a massive fire on Sunday night. 

(Photo: Twitter/Marina Amara)

Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum, located in Rio de Janeiro, was hit by a massive fire on Sunday night, leading to an irretrievable loss of over 20 million historical items including disfigurement of the world’s oldest human fossil, Luzia, found in Brazil.

Luzia lived in south-central Brazil some 12,000 years ago and can be considered as one of the most important historical artifacts lost in the flames.

Marina Amaral, a Brazilian colourist, took to Twitter to express just how significant the loss is and the anthropological elements associated with it.

“Independence Day is celebrated on 7 September here in Brazil. Many, many artifacts somehow related to the event are/were stored at the museum. How ironic,’’ wrote Amaral. 

A Look At Some Of the Artifacts Lost...

The Aftermath...

The palace was donated by a merchant to Prince Regent D. Joao in 1808 and later became the official residence of the royal family in Brazil between 1816 and 1821. The Egyptian collection began to be acquired by the emperor Dom Pedro I in the 1800s. There was also a collection of Greco-Roman art and artifacts that belonged to Empress Teresa Cristina. It was there that Princess Leopoldina, married to D. Pedro I, signed the Proclamation of Independence of Brazil in 1822, which is celebrated on September 7, Amaral further wrote. 

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“History Up In Smoke...”