Ancient Bracelet of Pharaoh Amenemope Stolen and Melted for Gold
Cairo,Egypt – Egyptians are expressing outrage after authorities revealed a 3,000-year-old bracelet belonging to Pharaoh Amenemope was stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and ultimately melted down for it’s gold content.
The theft occurred on September 9th while museum staff prepared artifacts for an upcoming exhibition in Italy, according to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy. He attributed the loss to “negligence” in security procedures during the installation process, and a full examination is underway.
The bracelet, featuring a lapis lazuli account, was stolen from a restoration laboratory lacking security cameras. Authorities traced the artifact through a network of merchants, ultimately discovering it had been sold to a gold workshop for approximately $3,800 before being melted and incorporated into new jewelry. A subsequent sale brought $4,000.
Police have arrested four suspects,including a museum restoration specialist who confessed to delivering the bracelet to a silver store owner in Cairo’s Sayyeda Zainab district. Security camera footage released by the interior Ministry shows the transaction taking place. All suspects have confessed and the money involved has been recovered.
The loss of such a important piece of Egyptian heritage has sparked widespread concern and calls for improved security measures.
“This is an alarm signal for the government,” stated human rights lawyer Malek Adly, emphasizing the need for enhanced protection of antiquities both in exhibition halls and storage.
Archaeologist Monica Hanna, dean of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, has called for a suspension of international exhibitions until stricter controls are implemented to safeguard artifacts. Hanna is a vocal advocate for the repatriation of Egyptian artifacts currently held in museums abroad.
Amenemope reigned over Egypt during the 21st dynasty from Tanis in the Nile Delta. His necropolis, discovered in 1940 by French archaeologist Pierre Montet, houses a collection of over 2,500 artifacts, including golden funerary masks and silver coffins, recently restored in cooperation with the Louvre Museum.
This incident echoes past cultural losses, including the 2010 theft of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Poppy Flowers” from another Cairo Museum – a painting that remains missing despite a previous recovery in 1977.
