3,000-Year-Old Pharaoh’s Bracelet Disappears From Egyptian Museum’s Restoration Lab

The missing 3,000-year-old golden bracelet, erstwhile owned by Pharaoh Amenemope, disappeared from the Egyptian Museum’s restoration lab. Credit: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Egyptian authorities are investigating the disappearance of a 3,000-year-old golden bracelet linked to a pharaoh of the 21st Dynasty. The artifact vanished from the restoration laboratory of the Egyptian Museum successful Cairo’s Tahrir Square, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The bracelet, decorated with a lapis lazuli bead, was past registered successful the museum’s interior documentation earlier it went missing. Officials person referred the lawsuit to instrumentality enforcement and the nationalist prosecution office. While the nonstop day of its disappearance remains unclear, the probe is ongoing.

Ancient king’s tomb offers humanities clues

The artifact is believed to person belonged to King Amenemope, a comparatively obscure pharaoh who ruled during Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period, betwixt astir 1076 and 723 B.C.

According to the museum’s website, Amenemope was initially buried successful a small, single-chamber tomb—designated NRT IV—at the royal necropolis of Tanis successful the eastbound Nile Delta. His remains were aboriginal reinterred adjacent to Psusennes I, a much salient ruler of the aforesaid era. The tomb was rediscovered successful 1940.

Border alerts issued to forestall smuggling

In an effort to forestall imaginable smuggling, authorities distributed an representation of the missing bracelet to each airports, seaports, and onshore borderline crossings successful Egypt. The ministry called the enactment a precautionary step.

Officials besides clarified that images of a akin bracelet circulating connected societal media amusement a antithetic artifact that remains safely connected display.

Archaeologist points to achromatic marketplace demand

Christos Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist astatine the University of Cambridge specializing successful antiquities trafficking, said the incidental underscores the risks posed by the planetary request for past artifacts.

He noted respective imaginable outcomes. The bracelet could person been stolen and smuggled abroad, yet resurfacing connected an online platform, backstage dealer, oregon auction house, perchance with falsified provenance documents.

Alternatively, the portion whitethorn person been melted down for its gold, making it untraceable but little invaluable successful earthy form. Another scenario, helium said, is that it has entered a backstage postulation and volition not beryllium seen again publicly.

Hope remains for the artifact’s recovery

Still, betterment remains possible. Tsirogiannis pointed to erstwhile cases—especially during the Arab Spring—when stolen objects from Egyptian museums were aboriginal recovered successful gardens oregon returned anonymously.

Ministry orders afloat artifact review

In effect to the incident, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has ordered a implicit inventory of each artifacts presently stored successful the museum’s restoration lab. A specializer committee volition oversee the reappraisal to guarantee that nary different items are missing.

Egypt continues its combat against antiquities trafficking

The amerciable commercialized successful Egypt’s taste practice remains a superior issue. In a abstracted lawsuit past year, 2 men were arrested aft attempting to smuggle hundreds of past artifacts retrieved from the seabed successful Abu Qir Bay adjacent Alexandria. The suspects aboriginal confessed to plans of trafficking the stolen items.