The 2.9m (9.5ft) long “green coffin” belonged to an ancient Egyptian priest called Ankhenmaat.
An ancient Egyptian sarcophagus looted and displayed in a US museum has been returned to Egypt.
The 2.9 m (9.5 ft) long “green coffin” dates back to the Late Dynastic period, which spanned from 664 to 332 BC, and belonged to a priest called Ankhenmaat.
A collector loaned it to the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2013.
The sarcophagus was repatriated after a years-long investigation and was officially handed over by American diplomats during a ceremony in Cairo on Monday. The event took place in the presence of Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Choukry and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa.
Mostafa Waziri, senior official of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, inspected the sarcophagus
“Today’s ceremony is emblematic of the long history of cooperation between the United States and Egypt in the protection of antiquities and the preservation of cultural heritage,” said the American charge d’affaires in Egypt, Daniel Rubinstein.
Mr Issa said the return of the sarcophagus showed Egypt’s strenuous efforts to recover the smuggled items.
In September, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the green coffin, valued at more than $1 million (£830,000), had been illegally exported from Egypt by a multinational network of drug smugglers. antiques.
The network was also responsible for the “Gold Coffin” traffic, which was returned to Egypt in 2019the Pa-di-Sena stele, which also dates from the Late Dynastic period and was handed over in 2020, and five pieces seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York last year.
The United States is not the only country to recently return antiquities to Egypt.
In 2021, Israel handed over 95 relics smuggled into the country or found for sale in Jerusalem.
Last month, a university in the Republic of Ireland announced plans to repatriate a sarcophagus, mummified human remains and canopic canopies.
