Egypt has recovered 36 archaeological artifacts from the United States, an achievement that confirms the country’s commitment to protecting its historical and cultural heritage. The operation comes within the framework of directives from Egypt’s president to counter the dispersal of national heritage and strengthen international cooperation in the protection of antiquities. The antiquities, which had illegally left Egyptian territory, were returned thanks to the joint work of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigration, the International Cooperation Office of the Egyptian Prosecutor General’s Office, and relevant security and control bodies. A committee of the Supreme Council of Antiquities has already taken delivery of the artifacts, which will be transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, where they will undergo thorough restoration before being displayed according to the museum’s museographic plan.
The recovery is another step forward under the memorandum of understanding signed between Egypt and the United States for the protection and return of cultural property. The understanding, which is renewed periodically, aims to combat the illicit trafficking of archaeological artifacts and foster cooperation between the institutions of the two countries.
According to the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathi, the return of these works testifies to the Egyptian state’s firm resolve to defend its heritage and recover assets that have illegally left the country. The minister highlighted the importance of cooperation between Egyptian and U.S. authorities, stressing that such cooperation reflects a growing awareness of the urgency of countering the illicit trade in cultural property and protecting shared human heritage. Fathi reiterated his commitment to continue efforts to bring back any illegally stolen objects of historical value.
Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mohamed Ismail Khaled, called the recovery a significant step in a long-term strategy based on a scientific and legal approach. He recalled that antiquities represent living traces of a civilization that has shaped human history for millennia. The return of artifacts, he added, is the result of ongoing efforts and increasingly effective international cooperation. According to Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, director general of the Department of Recovered Antiquities and head of the archaeological checkpoints of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the returned artifacts are divided into three main collections.
The first group, consisting of 11 pieces, was delivered by the New York State Attorney General’s Office. They include a funerary mask belonging to a young man from the Roman period, a vase depicting the deity Bes, and a limestone funerary stele from the same period. The second group was returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which voluntarily handed over twenty-four rare manuscripts to the Egyptian diplomatic representation. The documents, written in Coptic and Syriac, are a valuable record for the study of late antique cultures and early Christian communities in Egypt. The third group includes a painted plaster panel dating back to the 18th Dynasty, which was confiscated by U.S. authorities after its illicit provenance was verified.
The return of the artifacts from the United States is, therefore, a concrete example of judicial and cultural cooperation, but also a sign of the effectiveness of Egyptian policies in safeguarding the national historical legacy. The returned antiquities will soon be back on public view as an integral part of Egypt’s collective heritage, in a journey that combines memory, research and identity.
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| Egypt recovers 36 archaeological artifacts from the U.S. |
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