Egypt Recovers 13 Smuggled Antiquities From Britain and Germany
Egypt is celebrating the return of 13 ancient treasures from Britain and Germany, part of a continuing push to reclaim antiquities taken illegally from the country. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Sunday that the recovered items have been transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for restoration before they go on display in a special exhibition.
The artifacts, secured in coordination with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and foreign authorities, range from ornate burial goods to human remains. From Britain came a New Kingdom limestone funerary stela, a red baboon amulet, two faience vessels from the 18th Dynasty, and a bronze crown fragment from a statue of Osiris dating to between the 22nd and 26th Dynasties. The haul also included a beaded funerary mask and several faience and black stone amulets.
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Germany returned a skull and hand from an unidentified mummy, along with an ankh amulet—the ancient Egyptian symbol of life.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the British pieces were recovered after London’s Metropolitan Police seized them from an international antiquities network. As for the German returns, Khaled noted that Hamburg museum officials contacted the Egyptian embassy in Berlin to arrange their repatriation once it was confirmed they had been taken illegally.
Egypt has intensified its efforts in recent years to track down and recover cultural heritage items worldwide, viewing their return as both a matter of national pride and historical justice.
