Two people broke into Cairo's Egyptian Museum and ripped the heads off two mummies, reported the Associated Press, citing the country's head of antiquities.

They also damaged 10 small artifacts before soldiers guarding the museum caught them.

The Egyptian Museum is home to over 120,000 items, including mummies of the royal Egyptians like Ramses the III and treasures of King Tutankhamen.

As protesters against President Mubarak overturn major cities like Cairo, one side impact is chaos and the deterioration of the rule of law.

Realizing this problem, the Egyptian army -- which has maintained an uneasy truce with protesters -- dispatched soldiers to protect Egypt's many treasures from its storied history.

Soldiers are guarding various museums and famous sites like the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Aside from the threat of damages to national treasures, looters are also reportedly destroying public property and threatening the safety of citizens (notably those living in wealthy districts).

However, some of the lawlessness and destruction are wrought by plainclothes security forces who want to falsely attribute their actions to protesters and turn public sentiment against them.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic opposition political group, have assert themselves to organize protection committees for public properties in the wake of this power vacuum.

Egypt Egypt Egypt