The specimen, of 2.94 meters long and 90 centimeters widewith his face painted green, had been discovered in the center of Egypt and then it was stolen from the country. According to official sources, it is made of wood decorated with columns and hieroglyphic texts with gold.
Likewise, the portrait of sarcophagus It is painted green, a color that symbolized the resurrection in ancient Egypt. It also has a surface painted in bright colors, added La Nación.
The business manager of America in Egypt, Daniel Rubinsteinsymbolically handed over the artifact during a ceremony held on Monday in Cairo. The event was held at the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the presence of the owner of the area, Samé Shukriand the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa.
The director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, highlighted the characteristics of the famous green sarcophagus. ”There are two types of sarcophagi: those of royal remains and those of nobles. This one belonged to a nobleman,” he expressed.
The time to which the sarcophagus dates back, the Late Pharaonic Period, spans from the last rulers in the year 664 BC until the campaign Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
Smuggling
The green sarcophagus was looted from the Abu Sir necropolis, north of Cairo, in 2008. He was smuggled into Germany and from there to USA. There it was sold to a private collector and lent in 2013 to the Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texaswhere it was on display.
After four years of investigation, the district attorney of Manhattan, Alvin L. Bragg, determined the chain of events that led to verifying the theft of the coffin. The houston museum ordered the delivery after the judicial decision.
According to Bragg, the “impressive sarcophagus” was trafficked by “a well-organized network that had looted countless antiquities” in Egypt. “We are pleased that this item is returned to Egyptto which it legitimately belongs,” he said.
According to the prosecutor, the same network smuggled a golden sarcophagus looted from Egypt and exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of NY. The establishment purchased the piece in 2017 for $4 million from an art dealer in Paris. It was returned to Egypt in 2019.
Source: Ambito
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