Man in a suit bends over a sarcophagus in a box.
Mostafa Waziri, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, uses a magnifying glass to inspect an ancient Egyptian wooden sarcophagus being handed over and which was formerly displayed at Houston Museum of Natural Sciences after having been looted and smuggled years prior, at the foreign ministry headquarters in the capital Cairo on January 2, 2023. – Egypt announced on January 2 the recovery of a sarcophagus lid dating back nearly 2,700 years that it said had been smuggled out and put on display at a museum in the United States. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry announced the recovery of the artefact, known as the “Green Sarcophagus”, during a televised press conference. The sarcophagus lid was looted from the Abusir necropolis south of Cairo then transported to the US in 2008, eventually making its way to the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2013, according to state media.
(Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

The Egyptian government welcomed home an ancient wooden sarcophagus on Monday that was looted from the country nearly 15 years ago, according to theAssociated Press.

“This stunning coffin was trafficked by a well-organized network that has looted countless antiquities from the region,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said three months ago, after his office determined the sarcophagus had been looted from Abu Sir Necropolis, north of Cairo. “We are pleased that this object will be returned to Egypt, where it rightfully belongs.”

An official at Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, told theAssociated Pressthe sarcophagus dates back to the Late Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt, which lasted from 664 B.C.E. until Alexander the Great’s campaign in 332 B.C.E.

According to Waziri, the sarcophagus, which measures about 9.5 feet long, may have belong to an ancient priest named Ankhenmaat.

The repatriation is part of the Egyptian government’s continued efforts to stop the trafficking and secure the return of stolen antiquities.Bragg said that the sarcophagus was smuggled into the U.S. via Germany and before being returned was featured in the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

In 2021, Egyptian authorities saw the return of 5,300 looted artifacts from across the globe, theAssociated Pressreported.