Historians and members of the public have shared photographs of their favourite exhibits from Brazil’s National Museum as they came to terms with the fire that has laid waste to the country’s oldest and most important historical and scientific museum.

Brazil museum fire: ‘incalculable’ loss as 200-year-old Rio institution gutted Read more

Rio de Janeiro’s 200-year-old institution was home to 20m items. It is unclear how many were destroyed in the blaze, but it is believed much of the collection has been lost in the huge fire that started on Sunday.

Among the items feared destroyed by the blaze were a Roman fresco from Pompeii that survived the Vesuvius fire, Egyptian and Greco-Roman artefacts, fossils, dinosaurs, a meteorite found in 1784 and the remains of a 12,000-year-old human named “Luzia”, the oldest human fossil found in Brazil.

Marina Amaral (@marinamaral2) I am particularly sad about Luzia, the oldest human fossil found in Brazil. She lived in south-central Brazil some 12,000 years ago and was such an important historical artifact. I can't stand the fact that we lost her. pic.twitter.com/B8InTMLNcD

The National Museum also held one of the best collections of indigenous literature and artefacts in the world.





Alfons López Tena #FBPE (@alfonslopeztena) A Roman fresco from Pompeii, spared by Vesuvius fire, has been destroyed by the blaze in Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro pic.twitter.com/5U4FZqyGqN

Jeanette Beebe (@JeanetteBeebe) One of the casualties of the fire that destroyed #Brazil's National Museum in #Rio is the massive Bendegó meteorite. It was a very old space rock: before the "extraordinary stone" was found in 1784, it was likely stuck in the ground for thousands of years. pic.twitter.com/p0fICIbEPn

Alfons López Tena #FBPE (@alfonslopeztena) 02 de setembro de 1822 – Carolina Josefa Leopoldina Francisca Fernanda de Habsburgo-Lorena, princesa regente do Brasil por conta de uma ausência de Dom Pedro, assina o decreto da Independência do Brasil pic.twitter.com/bJfdjVtXAr

Historian Ana Lucia Araujo highlighted the significance of the National Museum, saying it was “the equivalent of the British Museum in Brazil”, though went on to point out that the museum in Brazil housed 20m items to the British Museum’s 8m.

Dr. Ana Lucia Araujo (@analuciaraujo_) The collection of @quaibranly is estimated at 450,000 objects.

The @britishmuseum collection is estimated at 8 million works.

The collection of @MuseuNacional in Brazil which was destroyed today is estimated at 20 million objects. TWENTY MILLION. The museum was 200 years old.

Araujo was also among those pointing out that Brazil’s government has presided over budget cuts for the arts, including the budget for the museum. Brazil’s president, Michel Temer has called the losses “incalculable”. “Today is a tragic day for the museology of our country,” he tweeted. “Two hundred years of work research and knowledge were lost.”

Dr. Ana Lucia Araujo (@analuciaraujo_) For those who are asking about what Brazilian government is doing regarding the fire at @MuseuNacional below is the budget of the museum in the last year. The museum (historic building, old royal palace) was managed by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. pic.twitter.com/gCqIbgcIQf

At the scene, several indigenous people gathered and criticised the fact that the museum containing their most precious artefacts has burned down seemingly because there was no money for maintenance of hydrants, yet the city had recently managed to find a huge budget to build a brand new museum of tomorrow.