Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Basir Insists on Returning Monuments to Egypt


Tue 19 Feb 2019 | 11:02 PM
Ali Abu Dashish

By: Ali Abu Dashish, Menna Seliem

CAIRO, Feb. 19 (SEE)- Hussein Basir, known Egyptian archaeologist, said "Nefertiti and Rosetta stone" must be returned to Egypt immediately. He also praised Zahi Hawass' efforts demanding the return many of Egyptian antiquities.

Basir confirmed that Tutankhamun tomb was about to be stolen, but the cemetery guards arrested them. If the tomb was stolen, then Howard Carter would never discover it in 1922 to be the most important archaeological discovery throughout history.

Papyrus found around cemeteries were also exposed to theft on the western bank of Luxor in Pharaonic Egypt. After the Pharaonic age, the theft of the antiquities increased due to the importance of the Egyptian monuments.

International gangs tried to steal these antiquities and traded outside the country, but Egyptian security tried their best to frustrate these attempts.

Egypt coordinated with antiquities ministry and foreign affairs ministry to bring back monuments from abroad.

The supreme council of antiquities, in the era of former secretary-general Zahi Hawass, returned about 6 thousands monuments by establishing general directorate of antiquities recovered. Hawass established the supreme commission for the restoration of Egyptian antiquities which were undermined after 25 January revolution, but it returned to work recently.

The archaeologist explained, "We can benefit from the museums which have our monuments to get a percentage of ticket sales and archeological records. In addition to that, we need for the Egyptian antiquities ministry representatives in these museums."

The general directorate of antiquities recovered many monuments from abroad like from Metropolitan Museum in New York.

He also added "I was very happy because the fines were raised for those who stole and smuggled the Egyptian antiquities outside the country. I call upon the concerned authorities to consider these thefts of the Egyptian antiquities as a disloyalty."