Today, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities received several artifacts dating back to the ancient Egyptian civilization that were returned to Egypt by the Wanganui and South Island Museums in New Zealand.
Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that these pieces were kept in the Wanganui and South Island Museums.
He added that the management of the two museums expressed their desire to return these pieces and deliver them to their mother country, Egypt.
The Secretary-General expressed his full appreciation for the position of the two museums, which confirms the museums’ mission to preserve the country’s human heritage in a way that preserves the identity of the people,
He praised
the cooperation and coordination that took place between the Egyptian Ministries of Tourism & Antiquities and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the return of these pieces to Egypt.
For his part, Shaaban Abdel Gawwad, Director- General of the General Directorate for the Recovery of Antiquities and Supervisor of the Central Administration for Archaeological Ports, said that most of the recovered pieces are parts of mummies and human remains belonging to the ancient Egyptian civilization, as well as a mummy of a mummified falcon and textile remains.
He pointed out that the pieces were deposited in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, Cairo, in preparation for the necessary maintenance and restoration work.
Abdel-Gawad stressed that the recovery of these pieces comes within the framework of the policy pursued by the General Directorate for the Recovery of Antiquities in urging international museums to return Egyptian antiquities, especially human remains, based on the ethics of international museums approved by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
It should be noted that the Egyptian Embassy in New Zealand had received the artifacts some time ago in the presence of representatives of the Wanganui and South Island Museum and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to a group of indigenous “Marawi” people to hold a ceremony to hand over the remains according to their traditions.
Translated by Ahmed Moamar
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