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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Egypt's past comes home
By Nevine El-Aref
Ushabti and the mardo head of the god Serabis, which were among the treasures returned to Egypt after being smuggled to Jordan
Within the context of cooperation between Egypt and Jordan and the implementation of bilateral and international resolutions aimed at protecting the heritage of both countries, 28 Pharaonic and Roman antiquities -- most of them stolen through illegal excavation -- were handed over to Egypt early this week. The objects had been smuggled to Jordan across the southern Red Sea port of Aqaba.Gaballa Ali Gaballa, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the returned objects were packed and sent as diplomatic luggage to protect them from damage. The batch includes some scarabs with hieroglyphic engravings on the surface, 21 ushabti (small wooden statuettes), each 10 centimetres long, and four amulets of several Ancient Egyptian gods dating back to the late period.
"The most beautiful and very well-preserved object among the returned artifacts is the mardo (white marble) head of Serabis, the Ptolemaic god sacrified in Alexandria," said Gaballa, explaining that the head dates to the first century AD and weighs 30 kilogrammes.
He went on to say that this head was on display in Jordan's national museum and it was also registered as a Jordanian antiquity. But due to the long-standing cooperation between Egypt and Jordan, the latter handed it over.
"The entire treasure has been handed over during a big celebration at the Egyptian Embassy in Jordan. It is now in the Egyptian Museum where it will be put on display in a special exhibition," said Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni.
The story of the smuggling began 10 months ago when the Jordanian security agency was tipped off that a batch of weapons and tons of drugs were hidden in a big container crossing the Jordanian-Egyptian border. The agency examined the container and found that it hid Egyptian antiquities in addition to a collection of sound pistols.
"This is a success story for Egypt," said Gaballa, explaining that the case is not yet over and that legal action is still under way that will lead to the smugglers' punishment.
