Egypt to recover mummy fragments from New York

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is set to recover from the US three fragments from three different mummies that had been stolen and smuggled out of Egypt in the early 20th century.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquity

Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, supervisor-general of the ministry’s Repatriation Department, told Ahram Online that the fragments were seized in Manhattan when their owner tried to sell them.

Abdel-Gawad says that the fragments, which are in a very good conservation condition, consist of two hands and a head from three mummies.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquity

The fragments had been bought by an American citizen in 1927 from an antiquities worker who stole them from an illegal excavation at an archaeological site in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

The ministry has authenticated the fragments, which are being recovered in accordance with Egyptian Antiquities law number 117/1983 and its amendment number 3 for 2010.

“The fragments are now in the possession of American authorities, and will be handed over to the Egyptian embassy on 8 January at a large celebration in New York,” Abdel-Gawad said.

Author: Nevine El-Aref | Source: Ahram Online [January 03, 2018]