Egypt Says Retrieves 25 Smuggled Artifacts From US

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty looking at a collection of artifacts, illegally smuggled out of Egypt, after they were returned at the ministry headquarters in Cairo on May 12, 2025. (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AFP / Handout)
A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty looking at a collection of artifacts, illegally smuggled out of Egypt, after they were returned at the ministry headquarters in Cairo on May 12, 2025. (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AFP / Handout)
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Egypt Says Retrieves 25 Smuggled Artifacts From US

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty looking at a collection of artifacts, illegally smuggled out of Egypt, after they were returned at the ministry headquarters in Cairo on May 12, 2025. (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AFP / Handout)
A handout picture released by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty looking at a collection of artifacts, illegally smuggled out of Egypt, after they were returned at the ministry headquarters in Cairo on May 12, 2025. (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AFP / Handout)

Sarcophagus lids, a Greco-Roman portrait and fragments of what is believed to be a temple of Queen Hatshepsut were among 25 rare artifacts returned to Egypt from the United States, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said Monday.

The pieces -- spanning centuries of Egyptian civilization -- were handed over following a three-year recovery effort by Egypt's consulate in New York, the New York District Attorney's Office and US security agencies, the ministry said in a statement.

The collection includes wooden and gilded sarcophagus lids dating back more than 5,500 years, parts of a temple believed to belong to Queen Hatshepsut and a Greco-Roman mummy portrait from Fayyoum -- a southern city renowned for its distinctive Greco-Roman art.

The trove also features intricately crafted jewellery from around 2,400 years ago, a granite foot fragment dating back to the Ramessid dynasty, during the peak of Egypt's power, as well as small ivory and stone figurines.

A rare gold coin dating back over two millennia to the reign of Ptolemy I -- one of Alexander the Great's generals and founder of ancient Egypt's last royal dynasty -- is also part of the collection.

The antiquities were seized in separate investigations beginning in 2022 and were held at Egypt's consulate in New York until their return to Cairo on Sunday, according to the ministry's statement.

Officials did not reveal exactly how the artifacts left Egypt or how they surfaced in the US.

Egyptian authorities say they have succeeded in bringing home nearly 30,000 artifacts over the past decade.



Saudi Crown Prince, Trump Tour Diriyah 

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and President Donald Trump at Diriyah. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and President Donald Trump at Diriyah. (SPA)
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Saudi Crown Prince, Trump Tour Diriyah 

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and President Donald Trump at Diriyah. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and President Donald Trump at Diriyah. (SPA)

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, accompanied on Tuesday US President Donald Trump on a tour of Diriyah.

The tour included the At-Turaif Historic District, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the birthplace of the Saudi state.

The Crown Prince and Trump watched a traditional Saudi folk performance and posed for a commemorative photo in front of Salwa Palace, the former seat of governance during the First Saudi State.

The tour also featured a presentation on the Diriyah Project.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and US President Donald Trump visit the old district of Diriyah on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on May 13, 2025. (AFP)

Trump had arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday – the first stop of a tour of the Gulf that will take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking at the Saudi-US Investment Forum earlier, he hailed the partnership between Riyadh and Washington, saying their relationship "has been a bedrock of security and prosperity."

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