Egypt has lost an important part of its cultural heritage after important manuscripts and up to 200,000 books were destroyed by fire in the building of the Egyptian Scientific Institute in Cairo.

A piece of Egypt’s "national treasure" and "rare history" is gone, the country’s prime minister said in his statement. State television reported that the fire damaged the whole building and all its collections. The total damage is yet to be determined.

The fire started on Saturday after protesters threw Molotov cocktails into the neighboring Shura Council building. The fire spread to the museum and although the flames were eventually extinguished, firefighters took a long time to arrive at the site and get the fire under control.

The violence has been continuing in Cairo as Monday has seen hundreds of police in riot gear sweep through Tahrir Square and open fire on protesters, killing at least three. The overall death toll from the recent clashes has reached 14, Egypt’s Health Ministry reports. But witnesses say they saw six killed by gunshots on Monday alone, which if true would raise the death toll even higher.

The fire destroyed or damaged rare maps and historical documents, including a first edition copy of the Description de l’Egypte, started under Napoleon Bonaparte by French scientists, which had been carefully stored and preserved for over 200 years.

The institute was established as L'Institute d’Egypte in August 1798 by Napoleon Bonaparte, and is considered to be the oldest one in Egypt. Its library held over 200,000 volumes including irreplaceable historic manuscripts.

Residents help salvage burnt manuscripts from the ruins of the Scientific Institute of Egypt near Tahrir Square in Cairo December 19, 2011 (Reuters / Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

A worker displays a page from the ancient document "Le Description de L'Egypt" salvaged from the ruins of the Scientific Institute of Egypt near Tahrir Square in Cairo December 19, 2011 (Reuters / Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

An Egyptian book restorer salvages burnt and damaged books at the Institute of Egypt in central Cairo on December 19, 2011 after the world-famous centre caught fire during deadly clashes between security forces and protesters (AFP Photo / Mohammed Abed)

Egyptian anti-military demonstrators protest outside the burnt Institute of Egypt in central Cairo on December 18, 2011 (AFP Photo / Khaled Desouki)