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🇪🇬 Egypt /Culture & Society

US returns 48 smuggled artifacts from 3 different eras to Egypt

From Egypt Independent · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • The FBI returned 48 smuggled artifacts, including jewelry, statues, and inscriptions, to Egypt during a ceremony in Los Angeles.
  • The items date back to the Pharaonic, Roman, and Coptic periods and were recovered with assistance from the US State Department and FBI's Cairo attaché.
  • US law enforcement agencies have returned over 5,000 artifacts to Egypt in the past decade, highlighting the illicit trafficking of cultural property as a funding source for criminal organizations.

The FBI has returned 48 looted artifacts to Egypt, marking a significant repatriation of cultural heritage. The ceremony in Los Angeles saw the handover of items spanning jewelry, statues, sculptures, amulets, funerary objects, and ancient inscriptions.

These recovered pieces belong to Egypt's Pharaonic, Roman, and Coptic periods. The FBI confirmed the artifacts' Egyptian origin with the help of the US State Department, archaeological experts, and the FBI's legal attaché in Cairo. The suspected smuggler of these items has died, but the case remains open as authorities investigate potential accomplices and search for other illegally obtained artifacts.

These artifacts that have been returned represent an essential part of Egypt’s history, cultural heritage, and people, and we are extremely happy and proud to bring them home.

— Hossam AliThe Egyptian Consul General in Los Angeles spoke at the ceremony where looted artifacts were returned to Egypt.

Egyptian Consul General in Los Angeles, Hossam Ali, expressed deep happiness and pride, stating, "These artifacts that have been returned represent an essential part of Egypt’s history, cultural heritage, and people, and we are extremely happy and proud to bring them home." He emphasized Egypt's eagerness for continued bilateral cooperation in the cultural field and beyond.

The FBI highlighted that illicit trafficking of cultural property often funds transnational criminal and terrorist organizations and harms the integrity of the US art and antiquities market. A 2016 agreement between the US and Egypt provides a framework for identifying, seizing, and returning trafficked cultural property, while also promoting legal exchanges for cultural, educational, and scientific purposes. Over the last decade, US law enforcement has returned more than 5,000 archaeological and cultural artifacts to Egypt.

Egypt looks forward to further constructive and robust bilateral cooperation in the cultural field and beyond.

— Hossam AliThe Egyptian Consul General in Los Angeles expressed Egypt's desire for continued cooperation with the US.
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Originally published by Egypt Independent. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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