Again, this technique does little to assuage my visceral feelings on the matter, but intellectually I console myself with something along the following lines: As much as we desire to experience these artifacts firsthand that have been destroyed perhaps recently or as far back to be considered historical acts themselves, to do so would present an untrue version of history. Those mummies that were destroyed were done so because of the realities in Egypt at the time. Thus, the act of destruction is part of our true historical record. When looked at in the future it will help historians to understand the state of Egypt when they took place. It will let future generations know that at this point in history we hadn't yet developed an intrinsic cultural respect for artifacts deep enough to shield them from petty elements of society. Without the ability to make that comparison, our descendants would have an imperfect record. It's not much, but it helps keep me sane.