Lebanon returns ancient Egyptian artefacts smuggled from country
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Lebanon returned 37 artefacts to Egypt after determining they had been smuggled out of the country six years ago.
A handover ceremony took place at the National Museum of Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday. Lebanon’s Culture Minister Ghassan Salame confirmed the items belonged to Egypt after a years-long investigation with INTERPOL, Egyptian authorities, and the Lebanese public prosecutor. The returned collection includes masks, wooden dolls, Coptic textiles, glass amulets, statues, and two decorated wooden coffins dating back to ancient Egypt.
Laura Salloum, an official with Lebanon’s Directorate General of Antiquities, explained that a Lebanese national purchased the artefacts without proving where they came from. This repatriation follows other recent recoveries of Egyptian artefacts. Last month, the FBI Art Crime Team returned 48 artefacts to Cairo from the United States. Also on Wednesday, Egypt’s embassy in Bern, Switzerland, recovered an ancient golden mummy mask with assistance from Swiss authorities.
Lebanon stated its actions demonstrate commitment to a 1970 international convention designed to prevent the illegal trafficking of cultural property.
