Exclusive photos: Egyptian antiquities to be returned to Egypt by a British court order

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, minister of antiquities, said today that 6 antiquities will be returned to Egypt from England after an English court decided to give back to Egypt the antiquities which were smuggled out of Egypt after 25th of January 2011.

The court ordered for the antiquities to be handed to the Egyptian embassy immediately without going through the normal procedures which is a first in the British courts history beside ordering the person who had possession of them to pay a fine of 12 thousand sterling pounds and prosecuting him for fraud and forging the ownership papers.

These 6 objects were first spotted on Bonhams and Christie's auction house web site.

 After proving authenticity of all the objects, It was found that one of the smuggled objects were registered in ministry of antiquities records in Luxor where it was found in 2000.
The Egyptian embassy in London is due to receive the antiquities next week and repatriate them to Egypt.

The objects are; a part of a red granite inscriptions measures 22.8cm x 14.8cm depicting a southern captive which was a part of a statue base of Amenhotep III that was discovered by the German mission working in Kom El Hitan in Luxor, Coloured limestone Cobra's head with sun disk between bull horns and behind it lotus flower. It measures of 12cm height and dated back to New Kingdom, a 6.7cm bust of Middle Kingdom shows a man with long wig, limestone statue head of a woman wearing a short wig dated back to New Kingdom and measures approx. 9cm, a part of a limestone relief measures 18.4cm x 14.6cm shows a person standing with his hand on his chest. It is dated to New Kingdom and another limestone relief of 17cm x 9.8cm shows a person wearing a long wig with traces of red and yellow colours. It is also dated back to New Kingdom.

 Photos are courtesy of MSA

Missing parts of the Colossi of Memnon discovered

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim announced that the European Egyptian mission directed by Dr. Hourig Sourouzian working at the site of Amenhotep III temple at Kom El Hitan on the West Bank of Luxor, discovered quartzite blocs belong to the missing parts of the northern colossi of Memnon. 

The discovered blocs are parts of the right arm and the decorated royal belt of the colossus.

H: 88cm  W:76cm  D: 77cm

Those parts, according to the minister, were lost in the ancient days as a result of an earthquake that caused complete destruction of the temple and all was left of it were the colossus of Memnon.

 The arrow refers to where the bloc belongs

At the moment, there is an ongoing project to reinstate the discovered parts to their original statues using the latest restoration techniques. 

Ali Al Asfr said "The blocs measure between 88cm height and 76 cm width. The mission also found parts of the royal crown as well as other parts of the bases of the two colossi.

Dr. Hourig and Dr. Abd El Hakim Karar

Site Management plan for the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III mortuary temple project

Conceptual Design for the site management plan

Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III mortuary temple project

Schematized design (rough plans) for the site of Kom El Hetan. Courtesy of the European mission directed by Dr. Hourig Sourouzian and Dr. Rainer Stadelmann

 

The reconstruction of Amenhotep III statues at Kom El Hetan will start Tomorrow

Tomorrow 18^th February 2013, the minister of Antiquities in co-operation with the European mission headed by Dr. Hourig Sourouzian will start moving the blocks and massive parts of the two statues of Amenhotep III which were re-discovered lately in Kom El Hetan (More about the discovery and the photographs,please click Here) in order to restore and re-erect them.  A number of the ministry officials will be attended with Mr. Adel Abd El Satar, Secretary General of the SCA, on behalf of the minister.

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim said that the moving process will take two days using heavy machinery and latest techniques. After the two statues are moved to their new location, the restoration will start immediately guided by an inscription found on the back of one of the statues showing how the statues looked when it was erected which give a clear idea on how it should be like and will help in restoring them successfully in order to open them to public as also a lights’ system will be installed to turn them into a new tourist attraction spot.

Dr, Mohamed Abd El Maqsoud, Deputy Director of the Egyptian Antiquities department and the head of the Egyptian team, explained that these statues are considered the highest of the King standing as they are 14 meters high, based on 4 meters high base which makes the total height 18 meters and they weigh 100 Tons each. 

Saving the twin statues of Amenhotep III in Kom El Hetan

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim says: “The Egyptian European mission working on Amenhotep III temple in Kom El Hettan, started the process of moving 2 statues of Amenhotep III after discovering them in a plot of land next to the temple on the west bank”

 The Minister referred that those two statues are considered the largest of Amenhotep III. Each of the limestone statues are of 14 meters high, based on 4 meters high base. The statues represented the King standing at the northern entrances of the temple. They were discovered in 1933 then re-discovered in 2010 and recently they were submerged in irrigation water in the agriculture area where also a water pipe exploded which exposed them to great danger and required a quick intervention to safe and move the statues.

The Minister said that the moving process will take a week from now and this event will help in returning tourism to Egypt and Luxor in particular.

Dr. Mohamed Abd El Maqsoud, Deputy Head of the Egyptian Antiquities department and the head of the team, said that the moving project is considered the biggest ongoing projects in Luxor at the moment.

A German team participating in the project which is funded by the German side to move the statues 60 meters to make sure they are safe then the restoration project will start which will include rejoining more than 20 blocks to the statues.

There are inscriptions on the base of one of the statues in addition to the back of the statue which bears the name of the King whilst the other statue shows the King wearing the white crown of the South. The second statue is in better condition and no fractures on the face.

Abd El Maqsoud added “The completion of the restoration project is expected in a year’s time.”

 

For more on the discoveries in the same site please check our links below

 A statue of Amenhotep III was found: The largest so far  

 Revealing the newly re-erected colossal statue of Amenhotep III in the Funerary Temple of the King on west bank 

Amenhotep III statue found on west bank,Luxor

New Statue found on west bank,Luxor Alabaster Statue of Amenhotep III found on west bankAmenhotep III lost eye is back in Luxor

The Missing parts are here, 130 years later 

New discovery by Amenhotep III Temple on West Bank, Luxor The International Research Conference “In Search for New Concepts and Technologies for Conservation and Preservation of The Colossi of Memnon & The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III”