Egypt Hands Over Stolen Antiquity To Iraq

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Zahi Hawass (L), Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Antiquities, on behalf of the
Egyptian government, hands over an Iraqi Mesopotamian bronze statue to the Iraqi attache in Egypt
Abdel Hadi Dadhil Ahmed, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, capital of Egypt, Jan. 11, 2009.

The authentic antiquity, which depicts a woman in the act of worship, was taken from an Egyptian
smuggler at the Egyptian port of Nuweiba in Sinai in 2005.

(Xinhua
/Zhang Ning)

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                                        Egypt hands over stolen antiquity to Iraq 
 
 




www.chinaview.cn 
2009-01-12
CAIRO,
(Xinhua)

-- Egyptian antiquity department on Sunday returned an ancient bronze statue to Iraq that was stolen and smuggled out of Iraq in 2005.

    During a ceremony on Sunday, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Zahi Hawass handed over the bronze statue depicting a standing woman to Iraqi charge d'affaires in Cairo Abdel Hadi Ahmed.

    Hawass said the story of the statue dates back to 2005, when an Egyptian tried to smuggle this item into Egypt but was detained at the port of Nuweiba in the Sinai Peninsula.

    According to the SCA, the artifact was verified by an archaeological committee as an authentic Mesopotamian antiquity.

    Since the Iraqi war in 2003, numerous antiquities have been stolen out of Iraq, a country with rich cultural heritages.

    Hawass said Egypt will not do business with museums that have stolen artifacts from Iraq, adding his country has always been tracking stolen antiquities.

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An ancient Iraqi bronze statue is presented at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, capital of Egypt,
Jan. 11, 2009.

Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Antiquities, on behalf of the
Egyptian government, handed over the Mesopotamian bronze statue to the Iraqi government on
Saturday.

The authentic antiquity, which depicts a woman in the act of worship, was taken from an Egyptian
smuggler at the Egyptian port of Nuweiba in Sinai in 2005.

(Xinhua/
Zhang Ning)

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The Iraqi attache in Egypt Abdel Hadi Dadhil Ahmed answers questions while holding an ancient Iraqi bronze statue at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, capital of Egypt, Jan. 11, 2009.

(Xinhua/
Zhang Ning)

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Egyptian antiquity department on Sunday returned an ancient bronze statue to Iraq that was stolen and smuggled out of Iraq in 2005.

(Xinhua/
Zhang Ning)

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                                             Egypt returns stolen artifact to Iraq






By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI
– 1-11-09
CAIRO,
Egypt
(AP)

— Egypt's antiquities chief unveiled Sunday a bronze statue of what he described as an ancient Mesopotamian goddess that had been looted from Iraq.

Zahi Hawass said an Egyptian man working in Jordan was caught at Nuweiba port trying to smuggle the statue into the country.

In the course of the ceremony, Hawass sliced through the plastic bubble wrap covering the 10 centimeter tall statue and handed it over to the Iraqi Charge d'Affaires, Abdel Hadi Ahmed.

"When the invasion of Iraq began in 2003, we wrote to the British and American governments asking them to protect Iraq's heritage and museums," said Hawass. "But that didn't happen."

Hawass said that since then his office has been tracking stolen Iraqi artifacts and has recovered some 5,000 items.

Hawass, who is a vigorous campaigner to recover Egypt's own stolen antiquities, said he will not do business with museums that buy stolen Iraqi artifacts.

The antiquities chief said he couldn't tell exactly the age or historical background of the statue, but said its headpiece suggests it is a female fertility deity.

Hawass said the smuggler now faces between three to five years in jail, but this could change to 25 years if a new law is approved in parliament next month.

Iraqi diplomat Ahmed told reporters that 24,000 stolen artifacts have been returned to Iraq as of July 2008.

According to UNESCO, between 3,000 to 7,000 pieces are still believed missing, including about 40 to 50 that are considered to be of great historic importance.

The smuggling of stolen antiquities from Iraq's rich cultural heritage is allegedly helping finance Iraqi extremist groups, according to the U.S. investigator who led the initial probe into the looting of Baghdad's National Museum.

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Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass, center, displays a bronze statue said to represent an ancient Iraqi goddess,
before handing it over to the Iraqi Charge d'Affaires in Cairo, at the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo, Egypt,
Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009.

Hawass said the stolen bronze statue had been looted from Iraq and was found on an Egyptian man trying to smuggle
it into Egypt via the port of Nuweiba, and was being returned to the Iraqi government.

(AP Photo/
Ben Curtis)