Ramses II is considered one of historical Egypt’s strongest pharaohs (File)
Cairo:
Egypt welcomed dwelling a 3,400-year-old statue depicting the top of King Ramses II after it was stolen and smuggled overseas greater than three many years in the past, the nation’s antiquities ministry mentioned on Sunday.
The statue is now within the Egyptian Museum in Cairo however not on show. The artefact will likely be restored, the ministry mentioned in a press release.
The statue was stolen from the Ramses II temple within the historical metropolis of Abydos in Southern Egypt greater than three many years in the past. The precise date is just not recognized, however Shaaban Abdel Gawad, who heads Egypt’s antiquities repatriation division, mentioned the piece is estimated to have been stolen within the late Eighties or early Nineteen Nineties.
Egyptian authorities noticed the artefact when it was supplied on the market in an exhibition in London in 2013. It moved to a number of different international locations earlier than reaching Switzerland, in keeping with the antiquities ministry.
“This head is a part of a gaggle of statues depicting King Ramses II seated alongside quite a few Egyptian deities,” Abdel Gawad mentioned.
Ramses II is considered one of historical Egypt’s strongest pharaohs. Often known as Ramses the Nice, he was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and dominated from 1279 to 1213 B.C.
Egypt collaborated with Swiss authorities to determine its rightful possession. Switzerland handed over the statue to the Egyptian embassy in Bern final 12 months, nevertheless it was solely lately that Egypt introduced the artefact dwelling.
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