EU nation gives back 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt
(MENAFN) Belgium has officially returned a 2,000-year-old wooden sarcophagus to Egypt following a decade-long investigation and legal battle, authorities in Brussels announced on Friday. This handover is part of Egypt’s broader efforts to reclaim stolen cultural artifacts in recent years.
The ancient coffin, from Egypt’s Ptolemaic period when the nation was under Greek rule, had been trafficked into Belgium through illegal art networks. Customs officials seized it in 2015 after Cairo issued an Interpol alert. Since then, it had been stored at Brussels’ Royal Museum of Art and History while awaiting legal clearance.
According to the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office, the sarcophagus, which depicts a mummified man, “undoubtedly belonged to a high-ranking member of Egyptian society.” Its golden face and blue hair symbolize divine traits, suggesting the deceased was believed to have transformed into Osiris, the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld. Hieroglyphs on the artifact identified the individual as Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered.
During a ceremony in Brussels on Friday, the sarcophagus and a ceremonial wooden beard were returned to Egypt’s ambassador, Ahmed Abu Zeid. Belgian prosecutor Julien Moinil described the restitution as “an act of justice” after a decade of legal proceedings.
The repatriation aligns with Egypt’s ongoing campaign to recover cultural treasures taken abroad. In May, France returned seven artifacts, including a wooden Anubis statue and ancient papyrus scrolls. Previously, Germany sent back 67 items, such as a mummified foot and funerary masks. Ireland’s University College Cork also repatriated a decorated coffin and ritual objects during Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s visit to Dublin last December.
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