Lebanon Hands Back 37 Ancient Pharaonic Artefacts Illegally Smuggled from Egypt

Lebanon's Culture Minister Ghassan Salame and Egypt's Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa marked the repatriation of 37 illegally smuggled artifacts dating back to the Egyptian pharaonic era during a special ceremony.

The handover took place on Wednesday at the National Museum of Beirut in the Lebanese capital. Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame formally transferred the items to Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa following a thorough investigation to confirm their identity and ownership.

Minister Salame emphasized that the event sets a strong precedent for strictly enforcing the 1970 international convention aimed at preventing the illicit trafficking of cultural property, as reported by Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Originally seized from the Port of Beirut in 2020, the collection required years of collaborative verification efforts involving INTERPOL, Egypt, and Lebanon’s top public prosecutor.

The recovered collection features masks, wooden dolls, Coptic textile fragments, glass paste amulets, medium-sized statues, and two intricately decorated wooden coffins featuring colorful designs.

Laura Salloum, an official with Lebanon’s Directorate General of Antiquities, explained that a Lebanese national had purchased the items without possessing official documentation to verify their origins.

Illicit antiquities smuggling from Egypt remains a persistent challenge, though recent international efforts have yielded successful returns. Last month, the FBI Art Crime Team in the United States returned 48 artefacts to Cairo. Additionally, Egypt’s official press office reported on Wednesday that its embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern, successfully recovered an ancient golden mummy mask with assistance from local authorities.