An ancient Egyptian artifact, believed to be from around 1,000 BC and once worn by Pharaoh Amenemope, was stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and later melted down for a mere £2,750. The theft occurred during a restoration process in the museum’s lab, where a restoration specialist illicitly took the bracelet and sold it to a jeweler. Subsequently, the jeweler sold the 3,000-year-old artifact to a gold foundry worker for £2,900 who, shockingly, melted it down along with other jewelry pieces.
Authorities launched a search across the country, including airports, ports, and border checkpoints, to apprehend the thieves before the artifact could be smuggled out of Egypt. Four individuals were arrested and admitted to the crime, with the proceeds from the sale confiscated by the government.
The missing bracelet, a valuable piece made of gold with spherical lapis lazuli beads, was a treasured possession of Pharaoh Amenemope, ruling from 993 to 984 BC. The museum, which houses over 170,000 artifacts and is the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East, is deeply affected by this incident.
In a similar event in 2013, a 3,000-year-old statue of Tutankhamun’s sister was stolen from the Mallawi museum in Egypt but was eventually recovered. The limestone carving, known as Daughter of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, was among 1,000 looted items and was to be displayed in a museum dedicated to Akhenaten’s family. Archaeologists noted that the perpetrators seemed well-informed about the value of the stolen items, leaving only the heavier artifacts behind during the robbery.