JAKARTA - The Egyptian authorities announced the return to the closing of the 2,700-year-old sarkofagus from the United States at a ceremony in Cairo.
Sarkofagus, which weighs 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds) is one of the largest, comes from the Ancient Egyptian End Period (747-332 BC), said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Egypt.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa said the lid was "hit and smuggled from Egypt into the United States a few years ago."
"The cover, which is about three meters long, was among 17 artifacts recently discovered from the US," Issa explained, launching The National News Jan. 3.
The artifact was looted from the Abusir cemetery, south of Cairo, then transported to the US in 2008.
"The return is the result of collaboration with the United States authorities and a two-year investigation," added Issa.
"Sarkofagus is very thick, which encourages looters to steal the cover of the sarkofagus without a baseline," Waziri explained during a press conference.
Waziri said the historic relic was known as the "Green Syrcofagus" because of the green surface above it.
The coffin may belong to a priest named Ankhenmaat, although several inscriptions have been removed, Waziri said.
Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the sarkofagus were smuggled through Germany before arriving in Uncle Sam's country. "This stunning coffin is traded by a well-organized network that has looted countless antiques from the region," Bragg said.
"We are pleased that this object will be returned to Egypt, where it should be," he said.
It is known that Egypt managed to return about 29,300 ancient artifacts smuggled abroad over the past 10 years, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry who attended the ceremony.
More than 110 of them were returned in 2022 from the United States, New Zealand, France, and other countries, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
"Our sincere gratitude to the US authorities for their cooperation in returning this valuable," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry tweeted.
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