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Ahram Online
“Egypt’s Ambassador to London Tarek Adel managed to recover three artefacts, dating back to the Pharaonic and Greek eras, before being sold at an auction hall in London”, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs read on Thursday.
Ambassador Adel lauded the fruitful cooperation between the Egyptian government and the British Museum to stop the sale of these priceless pieces.
The Ministry did not disclose details of the artefact’s owners, or how they were smuggled out of Egypt.
“The rescued pieces include an alabaster statue without the head and feet dating back to the Graeco-Roman era, and a part of a wooden sarcophagus which may date back to the late era. The third piece is likely to be part of a sarcophagus”, said Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, head of the Retrieved Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
“The three pieces are not listed among the possessions of museums and archaeological warehouses affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities. They were probably the result of illegal excavation”, Abdel-Gawad added.
