Egypt Recovers Three Ancient Artifacts Including Mummies from the Netherlands

Egyptian mummy head artifact repatriated from the Netherlands. Photo by Xinhua and Yonhap News Agency

Egypt has recovered three ancient artifacts that were smuggled out to the Netherlands.

According to major foreign media and the Egyptian Embassy in The Hague on the 27th (local time), the recovered artifacts include a Hellenistic period mummy head, a funerary pottery figurine from the New Kingdom of Egypt (664?332 BCE), and a part of a coffin depicting the goddess Isis. Foreign media reported that the mummy head is in particularly good condition, with traces of teeth and hair still preserved. The artifacts were handed over to authorities by a Dutch individual who had inherited them from their family.

According to Egyptian and Dutch authorities, these artifacts are believed to have been illegally excavated, stolen, and smuggled out. The exact time of excavation and smuggling has not been confirmed. The recovery of these artifacts was achieved through extensive efforts by Egyptian authorities to reclaim illegally smuggled cultural properties. Since 2014, more than 30,000 artifacts have been recovered.

Last year, an ancient coffin artifact that had been exhibited at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in the United States was returned to Egypt after it was revealed to have been smuggled several years ago.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.