Egypt returns four smuggled ancient artifacts from Italy

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that it brought back four ancient Egyptian artifacts were illegally smuggled to Italy, as it handed over to the Egyptian Embassy in Rome a while ago and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities received it.

The smuggled artifacts include a part of coffin carved in wood and decorated by rows of hieroglyphic text from the late period. It also included a ceramic vase, a statue depicting a woman from the Graeco-Roman, and a 2.5 cm tall Djed pillar.

Moustafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that he was “grateful for the fruitful collaboration between the Egyptian and Italian authorities.”

“Egypt has a plan to restore its historical and archaeological heritage by combating smuggling endeavours and through agreements against the illegal transfer of artifacts,” said Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, the Supervisor of the Antiquities Repatriation Department at the SCA.