The police in the Upper Egyptian region of Mallawi, Minya, caught a cache of 64 artefacts that go back to ancient Egyptian times in the house of Nadi Abdel-Hakim Youssef, 45, a villager from Sangerg.
The police in the Upper Egyptian region of Mallawi, Minya, caught a cache of 64 artefacts that go back to ancient Egyptian times in the house of Nadi Abdel-Hakim Youssef, 45, a villager from Sangerg.
The police raided Youssef’s house on a tip-off. The collection included nine porcelain figurines, two clay monkeys, two 20-cm high statuettes of women, all apparently belonging to the Pharaonic era, as well as 32 metal coins that go back to the Greco-Roman era. According to regulations, the pieces must be handed over to the antiquities authority to check their authenticity then place in the appropriate museum.
It is common for Egyptians, especially in Upper Egypt, to unearth ancient items once they dig for any purpose, such as to build the foundation of a house for instance. According to the law, any unearthed pieces should be handed to the antiquities authority which must then examine the site. But more often than not, the owners of the land keep their find and go on with their building project.
WATANI International
8 May 2012