a stolen ancient Egyptian sarcophagus is
returning home the sarcophagus nearly
three thousand years old was seized by
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
or ice during a routine shipments
inspection at the Miami International
Airport in 2008 agents became suspicious
when they noticed inconsistencies in the
shipments documentation customs
investigated the importer and the seller
in Spain and concluded the sarcophagus
was indeed stolen property an
Egyptologist verified that the
sarcophagus is an authentic Egyptian
artifact with its elaborate hieroglyphs
the wooden coffin belonged to a
prominent man named MSE who lived during
the 21st dynasty of Egypt after the
sarcophagus was seized the United States
and the Spanish art gallery that sold
the artifact engaged in a legal battle
over ownership eventually the gallery
abandoned its challenge and Egypt’s
ownership was ensured ice arranged a
repatriation ceremony at National
Geographic Society headquarters in
Washington DC to officially return the
sarcophagus to its home country to
prepare for its journey agents
thoroughly wrapped and boxed the
delicate delivery for its departure from
Miami agents accompanied the sarcophagus
to Washington and were greeted by staff
from the National Geographic who were on
hand to make sure the precious cargo
arrived safe and sound at the
repatriation ceremony representatives
from the Egyptian and United States
government signed the official custody
documents dr. Zahi Hawass Secretary
General of the Egyptian Supreme Council
of Antiquities and a National Geographic
explorer-in-residence accepted the
sarcophagus on Egypt’s behalf people can
think that the best moment in the life
of an archeologist is actually to
discover something but for me the best
thing is to return something to Egypt I
say this everyone
the country that helped us a lot in
return the stolen artifacts is United
States the good news amongst the sad
tale of international art theft and
misappropriation is people do care we do
come together it’s a it’s a remarkable
collaboration once the sarcophagus
safely returns home it will be put on
display at the global Egyptian Museum in
Cairo in early April in an exhibition
showcasing artifacts recovered in the
last eight years so far approximately
31,000 Egyptian artifacts have been
repatriated yet the number of items that
are still illegally owned and
distributed is unknown the repatriation
of the sarcophagus called attention to
the ongoing struggle to protect ancient
art and antiquities from the black
market trade Egyptian artifacts are
often smuggled because there is a high
demand for them on the international
market and as a result countries such as
Egypt have been robbed of their history
and culture whether it’s looters who are
dynamiting the tops of mountains in the
Andes in a desperate search for Incan
gold or the silent world of illegal
antiquities trade the effect is the same
we’ve lost something something that
can’t be replaced a piece of our history
maybe a key that would have unlocked
some past secret the US Immigration and
Customs Enforcement is the largest
investigative agency in the US
Department of Homeland Security and it
plays a leading role in combating the
trafficking of lost or stolen cultural
properties art and antiquities and
returning them to their countries of
origin
you
returning home the sarcophagus nearly
three thousand years old was seized by
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
or ice during a routine shipments
inspection at the Miami International
Airport in 2008 agents became suspicious
when they noticed inconsistencies in the
shipments documentation customs
investigated the importer and the seller
in Spain and concluded the sarcophagus
was indeed stolen property an
Egyptologist verified that the
sarcophagus is an authentic Egyptian
artifact with its elaborate hieroglyphs
the wooden coffin belonged to a
prominent man named MSE who lived during
the 21st dynasty of Egypt after the
sarcophagus was seized the United States
and the Spanish art gallery that sold
the artifact engaged in a legal battle
over ownership eventually the gallery
abandoned its challenge and Egypt’s
ownership was ensured ice arranged a
repatriation ceremony at National
Geographic Society headquarters in
Washington DC to officially return the
sarcophagus to its home country to
prepare for its journey agents
thoroughly wrapped and boxed the
delicate delivery for its departure from
Miami agents accompanied the sarcophagus
to Washington and were greeted by staff
from the National Geographic who were on
hand to make sure the precious cargo
arrived safe and sound at the
repatriation ceremony representatives
from the Egyptian and United States
government signed the official custody
documents dr. Zahi Hawass Secretary
General of the Egyptian Supreme Council
of Antiquities and a National Geographic
explorer-in-residence accepted the
sarcophagus on Egypt’s behalf people can
think that the best moment in the life
of an archeologist is actually to
discover something but for me the best
thing is to return something to Egypt I
say this everyone
the country that helped us a lot in
return the stolen artifacts is United
States the good news amongst the sad
tale of international art theft and
misappropriation is people do care we do
come together it’s a it’s a remarkable
collaboration once the sarcophagus
safely returns home it will be put on
display at the global Egyptian Museum in
Cairo in early April in an exhibition
showcasing artifacts recovered in the
last eight years so far approximately
31,000 Egyptian artifacts have been
repatriated yet the number of items that
are still illegally owned and
distributed is unknown the repatriation
of the sarcophagus called attention to
the ongoing struggle to protect ancient
art and antiquities from the black
market trade Egyptian artifacts are
often smuggled because there is a high
demand for them on the international
market and as a result countries such as
Egypt have been robbed of their history
and culture whether it’s looters who are
dynamiting the tops of mountains in the
Andes in a desperate search for Incan
gold or the silent world of illegal
antiquities trade the effect is the same
we’ve lost something something that
can’t be replaced a piece of our history
maybe a key that would have unlocked
some past secret the US Immigration and
Customs Enforcement is the largest
investigative agency in the US
Department of Homeland Security and it
plays a leading role in combating the
trafficking of lost or stolen cultural
properties art and antiquities and
returning them to their countries of
origin
you
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