Three mummified human parts that date back to ancient Egypt and which were smuggled out of the country in 1927 have been handed back to Egypt by US authorities.
Egypt’s General Consulate in New York received the parts which were then flown home.
Heba al-Marasy, assistant to Egypt’s Foreign Minister, said that the antiquity pieces were on display for auctioning at an auction house in Manhattan, but the antiquities trafficking unit of the US Attorney General’s Office in New York got wind of the matter and halted the auctioning.
The American authorities informed Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities which duly contacted the Foreign Ministry to take necessary action for the pieces to be brought home to Egypt.
The Antiquities Ministry examined the mummified parts and proved them authentic. They comprise a head and two hands that were stolen from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor and smuggled out of the country in 1927.
Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry commended the joint efforts of the Foreign Ministry and the US authorities on the antiquity front. “This is a coordination that started in November 2017, and through which many smuggled Egyptian antiquities were spotted by the US authorities concerned and handed to Egypt,” Dr Marasy noted.
Watani International
22 April 2018