CAIRO - Large amounts of artifacts have been moved from a storehouse in el-Qantra Sharq, around 120km north of Cairo to the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo to safeguard them against theft, Egypt's chief archaeologist has said. Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass said in a statement he had received a report that dozens of boxes containing antiquities from Sinai and regional museums of Taba, Sharm el-Sheikh and Port Said had safely arrived at the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo. Egypt's archaeological sites have been in peril of looting since the police withdrew from the streets of the nation on January 28. Late on Saturday, about 40 men attacked an antiquity warehouse in the northern Delta city of Kafr el-Sheikh, shooting at warehouse guards and injuring several. This was the second attempt to rob Kafr el-Sheikh's Tal al-Faraeen (Hill of the Pharaohs) antiquities since January 25, the first day of the nationwide protests that overthrew Mubarak on February 11. Hawass has appealed to young Egyptians to help protect the nation's ancient treasures from plundering. Head of the Central Department of Lower Egyptian Antiquities Mohamed Abdel Maksoud said that the doors of the warehouse in Tal al-Faraeen had been destroyed. Some suspected attackers had been caught. A committee had been formed to make an inventory of Tal al-Faraeen's artefacts and identify what was stolen, he said. Ancient Egypt's culture, monuments, temples and pyramids are major assets for the country's tourism industry.