(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Do-yeon = Egyptian authorities have launched an investigation after a 3,000-year-old pharaoh’s gold bracelet disappeared from a large museum in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
According to AFP and CNN on the 17th (local time), the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the disappearance of the gold bracelet, a 3,000-year-old artifact, from the restoration room of the Egyptian Museum located in Cairo’s Tahrir Square the previous day.
The exact time when the bracelet was last confirmed was not disclosed. Egyptian local media reported that the theft was discovered during a collection inventory check in preparation for the “Treasures of the Pharaohs” exhibition scheduled to be held in Rome, Italy, at the end of next month.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated that an internal investigation is currently underway and that alerts have been issued at all airports, ports, and land border checkpoints in Egypt, distributing photos of the bracelet to prevent smuggling.
It also reported that a comprehensive inventory check of items in the restoration room is in progress.
The ministry explained that it did not immediately announce the loss of the bracelet to facilitate the investigation.
The missing bracelet, decorated with lapis lazuli beads, is known to have belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned during the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt (1076 BC to 723 BC).
It was discovered while excavating the tomb of Pharaoh Psusennes I in Tanis, Egypt, where Amenemope had been reburied after his original tomb was looted.
There are several possibilities regarding the whereabouts of the missing bracelet.
Christos Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist from the University of Cambridge, speculated that the bracelet could soon appear on online platforms, dealer galleries, or auction houses after being stolen and smuggled out.
He added that it might also be possible to melt the bracelet to obtain gold or keep it in a private collection, avoiding detection when attempting to sell it.
dylee@yna.co.kr