Looted Ancient Sarcophagus Returned To Egypt: The Houston Museum of Natural Sciences in the US has sent an ancient wooden sarcophagus known as the “Green Coffin” back to Egypt after US authorities discovered it had been plundered in the past.
The Egyptian government’s efforts to halt the trafficking of its stolen antiquities include repatriation. 5,300 stolen antiques from all across the world were successfully returned to Egypt by Cairo officials in 2021.
The sarcophagus, which is about three meters (9.5 feet) tall and has a vividly painted top surface, may have belonged to a priest named Ankhenmaat in antiquity, according to Waziri. However, some of the writing on it has been removed.
Daniel Rubinstein, the US chargé d’affaires in Egypt, symbolically handed it over in a ceremony that followed a news conference on Monday in Cairo.
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Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa, and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry were present. After years of work and cooperation with our friends in the US, “a priceless piece of Egypt’s history was rescued,” Shoukry added.
The sarcophagus was turned over more than three months after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office concluded that it had been stolen from the Abu Sir Necropolis, located north of Cairo. In 2008, it was smuggled into the US through Germany, claims Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg.
At the time, Bragg stated that “this magnificent casket was traded by a well-organized network that has robbed many antiques from the region.” “We are happy that this object will be sent back to Egypt, where it belongs,”
Image Source: Smithsonian mag
Bragg claimed that the same network had illegally removed an Egyptian coffin covered in gold from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The museum purchased the artwork in 2017 for roughly $4 million from a Parisian art dealer. In 2019, it was delivered back to Egypt.
After an investigation in the US revealed that 16 artifacts had been unlawfully transported, the Metropolitan Museum returned them to Egypt in September.
Looted Ancient Egyptian ‘Green Coffin’ Returned To Cairo By US https://t.co/H01MZUPYI6 pic.twitter.com/6SOqynMiIm
— NDTV News feed (@ndtvfeed) January 3, 2023
The sarcophagus was returned when more nations requested the return of artifacts from museums in Europe and North America that symbolised their national heritage.
Additionally, 200 years after the translation of the slab ushered in Egyptology by revealing the mysteries of hieroglyphic writing, Egyptians have been calling for the return of the Rosetta Stone, one of the most significant artefacts in the British Museum.
According to Egypt, the return of artefacts helps the country’s suffering economy by boosting tourism. To display its most renowned ancient Egyptian collections, the nation is shortly anticipated establishing a new museum close to the Giza pyramids. Follow Digitalnewsexpert.com for more updates.
