26th Dynasty ushabti figure coming home from Brussels

The torso of a 26th Dynasty green faience ushabti figure stolen during the January 25 Revolution is to return to Egypt next week from Brussels

by Nevine El-Aref , Saturday 7 Dec 2013

Next week Egypt is to recover a 26th Dynasty ushabti torso that was reported missing from the Egyptian Museum on 28 January 2011, in the throes of the January 25 Revolution.

Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim said that the artifact was broken into two pieces. The lower part remained in the museum while the torso was stolen and smuggled out of the country and sold to a Belgian citizen.

A few days ago, continued Ibrahim, the Belgian citizen presented the torso to a French archaeologist to ascertain its authenticity and value. The French archaeologist recognised that the torso had been in collection the Egyptian Museum. He had studied it in 1989 at the museum.

The French archaeologist reported the find to the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), which in turn undertook the required procedures to recover it. The MSA contacted the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Egyptian embassy in Brussels, Interpol and UNESCO in order to help in the restitution of the artifact.

"The torso was among the pieces stolen from the Egyptian Museum on 28 January 2011, but regretfully it was not included in the report issued at that time about the missing objects," Ibrahim told Ahram Online.

Ibrahim added that he referred the case to the prosecutor general for investigation on why the torso was not included in the missing items report.

Ali Ahmed, head of the Antiquities Repatriation Department at the MSA, explained that the whole statue was found in the Memphis necropolis in 1858 and belonged to a nobleman of various titles, among them the holder of the north stamps.

The ushabti is 29 centimetres tall and is well known among archaeologists.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/88491/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/th-Dynasty-ushabti-figure-coming-home-from-Brussel.aspx

British Museum and archaeologist confirm identity of stolen Egyptian artefact

With 1 stolen artefact identified and saved from a Christie's auction, officials continue to investigate 5 more in the largest-known theft since the January 2011 revolution

Amer Sultan in London , Friday 9 Aug 2013

Archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian and the British Museum have identified the exact provenance of one of six artefacts allegedly looted from Egypt and meant to be auctioned through Christie's in London on 2 May.

British Museum Assistant Keeper of Ancient Egypt and Sudan Department Marcel Marée recounts to Ahram Online that he and his colleagues spotted the stolen ancient Egyptian objects from Christie’s latest catalogue listing antiquities up for sale, among which were the six artefacts that are claimed to have been in a private UK collection since the 1940s. "But I had reason to doubt this," he reveals.

The British Museum relies on an extensive network of Egyptologists who are helping trace the provenance of the possible stolen antiquities, including Hourig Sourouzian, who used to work for the German Archaeological Institute and has been conducting excavations at the Amenhotep III mortuary temple on Luxor's west bank for many years now.

King Meneptah's stelae in Silsila is safe after theft attempt

Thieves were foiled late last night at King Meneptah’s chapel at Al-Silsila in Aswan after they attempted to steal a famed stelae


by Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 7 Jun 2012

Archaeologists and guards at Gabal Al-Silsila archaeological site, 20 kilometres north of Kom Ombo city in Aswan, succeeded in catching a group of thieves who in full view had tried to remove King Meneptah’s stelae from its original position on the wall of his chapel.

Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim said the theft attempt was discovered late last night when permanent archaeologists at the site realised that four people were in front of King Meneptah’s stelae trying to hack it off the wall with an axe and digging tools. With the help of guards, archaeologists surrounded the criminals and caught them red handed. The Tourism and Antiquities Police came and took the criminals into custody.

Abdel Moneim Saeed, director of Kom Ombo site, said an early inspection of the stelae revealed that it had been partly damaged by the hard tools used in the theft attempt, especially its lower part which is now dotted with holes. But he assures the damage can be restored and the stelae returned to its original condition.

Abdel Hamid Maarouf, head of the ancient Egypt section at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), told Ahram Online that the Meneptah stelae is located between two chapels of kings Meneptah and his father, Ramses II. It is a rocky stelae carved in rock and engraved with hieroglyphic text and decorated with a scene depicting King Meneptah offering god Amun Re the sign of justice, Maat.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/44123/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/King-Meneptahs-stelae-in-Silsila-is-safe-after-the.aspx

Police recover pharaonic artefacts stolen in wake of revolution

Objects found buried at Saqqara Necropolis include several ancient Egyptian statuettes carved from green faience


by Nevine El-Aref , Tuesday 22 May 2012


A collection of 35 ancient Egyptian artefacts stolen in the wake of last year's Tahrir Square uprising was recovered on Monday by Tourism and Antiquities police.

The objects were found buried in sand close to the Horemhab funerary complex in the Saqqara Necropolis on the outskirts of Cairo.

According to police, the objects were stolen from neighbouring archaeological sites during the uprising. The thieves, police speculate, had been planning to smuggle the objects out of the country at a later date.

The collection consists of several ancient Egyptian statuettes carved from green faience and ranging in length from 5.8 to 6 centimetres.

The objects have been confiscated by the authorities and currently await examination by an archaeological committee to determine their authenticity and place of origin.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/42364/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Police-recover-pharaonic-artefacts-stolen-in-wake-.aspx

Nine limestone reliefs are back home from Spain

The stolen artefacts were missing for over a decade until they turned up in Barcelona

by Nevine El-Aref , Monday 12 Mar 2012

After a thirteen year absence, nine ancient Egyptian limestone reliefs were returned to their original place in the Saqqara necropolis.

The story of the objects goes back to 1999, when the nine limestone reliefs were reported missing from their original location on the walls of the sixth dynasty tomb of a nobleman called Imep-Hor, located in Kom Al-Khamsin area in Saqqara, 15 miles south of the Giza plateau.

The reliefs are engraved with hieroglyphic texts showing different names of the tomb’s owner and religious chapters from the Book of the Dead.

Ahmed Mostafa, former head of the return antiquities department as the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), told Ahram Online that one of these reliefs was found three years ago on the list of a well known auction house in Spain. The Ministry, which was then called the Supreme Council of Antiquities, asked the Spanish government to stop the auction as the relief was an Egyptian possession that has been stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country.

A year later, the eight other reliefs were taken from the possession of an antiquities dealer in Barcelona. An Egyptian archaeological committee travelled to Spain to inspect the items and showed all the required documents to prove Egyptian ownership of the artefacts.

Legal procedures and diplomatic negotiations took place between both the Spanish and Egyptian governments over the last three years, and yesterday Egypt’s embassy in Spain received a letter from the Spanish government that the latter agreed to hand over the requested items to Egypt.

In a statement, Egypt’s Ambassador to Spain, Ayman Zaineddin, praised the cooperation shown by the Spanish during the discussions and Madrid's desire to follow the proper legal process to protect Egyptian rights. He said that “Spain's positive response embodies the friendly relations between the two countries.”

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/36583/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Nine-limestone-reliefs-are-back-home-from-Spain.aspx

Stolen ancient Egyptian artefacts recovered

An anthropoid sarcophagus and other ancient Egyptian artefacts are recovered by the Tourism and Antiquities Police

By Nevine El-Aref , Friday 28 Oct 2011

Following comprehensive investigations carried out by the Tourism and Antiquities Police (TAP), a collection of missing ancient Egyptian artefacts were recovered buried by antiquity smugglers in the desert south of Saqqara necropolis.

According to a release submitted by TAP, the restituted collection includes of an anthropoid painted wood sarcophagus, two wooden statues depicting the god Ptah and seven pieces of inscribed limestone which were parts of a false door. The objects were stolen from Saqqara necropolis and taken out of the archaeological space in order to be sold.

An archaeological committee approved the authenticity of the items which, after their release from the TAP, will be subjected to restoration and study before being returned.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/25317/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Stolen-ancient-Egyptian-artefacts-recovered.aspx

Two reliefs stolen from Egypt's Hetepka tomb found

Two ancient limestone Egyptian reliefs stolen from Hetepka tomb in Saqqara were recovered today

By Nevine El-Aref , Saturday 15 Oct 2011

The Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Police have succeeded in recovering two well-preserved limestone reliefs stolen in 1986 by an international antiquities smuggling gang from Saqqara archaeological storehouses.

The objects belong to the Fifth Dynasty tomb of the king's royal hairdresser Hetepka, discovered by British archaeologists Geoffrey Martin in the late 1960’s at the Old Kingdom cemetery at Saqqara necropolis.

Although several members of the gang were caught in 2002 and sent to prison, among them the gang’s mastermind, Jonathan Tokeley-Parry and his partner, British antiquities trader Frederick Schultz, the four objects they stole had not been recovered.

Two of the objects have been found.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Mostafa Amine said that both recovered items are limestone reliefs engraved with ancient Egyptian decorations and hieroglyphic texts. The first one, he continued, is a rectangular shaped relief of 100 centimetres in height and 60 centimetres in width. It depicts four geese and is decorated with hieroglyphic text.

The second relief, Amine pointed out, is engraved with three lines of hieroglyphic text written vertically as well as the cartouches of two of the Fifth Dynasty kings Sahure and Neferirkare.

Atef Abul Dahab, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the SCA explained that following the trial of Tokeley-Parry and Schultz, Egypt reported the missing objects to Interpol, who is still looking for the other two reliefs that depict scenes of Egypt’s wildlife along with hieroglyphic text.

Abul Dahab told Ahram Online that the two newly recovered objects are now in storage awaiting restoration.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/24162/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Two-reliefs-stolen-from-Egypts-Hetepka-tomb-found.aspx