Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry announced Egypt has recovered the Green Coffin, which he described as an “important artifact”, from the United States – one of the artifacts smuggled out of the country illegally.
During a press conference at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters broadcast on Egyptian television, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa explained that the coffin was among the 17 pieces of artifacts recovered from the United States, reports a local Arabic daily.
For his part, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, said during the conference that what was recovered was the cover of the green sarcophagus, which is one of the largest wooden Pharaonic coffins, which made it difficult to completely steal it.
Waziri indicated that the length of the cover reached two meters and 94 centimeters, its width was about 90 centimeters, and its weight was not less than half a ton.
“There are royal coffins for individuals,” he said. This coffin is for individuals,” noting that the coffin “most likely belongs to a priest named Ankh-em-Maat.”
Waziri attributed the reason for the name “green” to the color of the face carved on the lid of the sarcophagus, which dates back to the late Pharaonic era nearly 2,700 years ago and was discovered in the Middle Egypt region, according to what the Egyptian official suggested.
Shoukry emphasized at the press conference that “the recovery of the Green Coffin represents a new episode in protecting Egypt’s cultural heritage,” noting that over the past decade, the country has recovered more than 29,000 smuggled artifacts from abroad.
Over the past few years, Egypt has uncovered several archaeological “treasures” in various parts of the country, especially the Saqqara region, where more than 150 ancient sarcophagi dating back more than 2,500 years have been discovered.
The Egyptian authorities hope to open the “Grand Egyptian Museum” near the Giza pyramids during this new year in order to boost the tourism sector, which employs about two million Egyptians and generates 10 percent of the gross national product.
