Saturday, 5 November 2016

'Too Many People Acquire Undocumented Material from Egypt'


The title is ambiguous, stolen could be an adjective or the past participle, but the message is the same: 'Too Many People Have Stolen Egypt’s History; Here’s How It’s Getting It Back', by Allison Keyes, The Root November 5, 2016
The problem is rich collectors looking for items for their trophy cases. “They want the item in their showroom to brag about to others. … They will pay an amazing amount of money to display something thousands of years old,” [Bryan Lewis, the Homeland Security Investigations country attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo] says. “A sarcophagus that can be three to four thousand years old could be priceless because they’re getting something that’s one of a kind.”[...] The U.S. and Egypt are currently negotiating two memorandums of understanding aimed at increasing protections against the illicit import of Egyptian treasures. But the battle is likely to be ongoing. “Egyptian antiquities are among the most valuable and sought after in the world,” Lewis says.
Vignette: Shabtis robbed from graves are a popular collectors' item

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