Smuggled King Ramses II statue head successfully returns to Egypt

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, received the head of a statue of King Ramses II which had been received by the Egyptian embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern back in July.

This came following efforts by the Egyptian Ministries of Tourism, Antiquities, and Foreign Affairs and the concerned authorities to track down and recover the head after it had been illegally smuggled out of the country.

The Director General of the General Administration for Antiquities Repatriation, Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, explained that the ministry had succeeded in July in recovering the head of the statue and it was delivered to the headquarters of the Egyptian Embassy in the Swiss capital of Bern until it arrived in Egypt and the Ministry received it from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He pointed out that the recovered piece represents the head of a statue of King Ramses II, which dates back more than 3,400 years. It was stolen from his temple in Abydos and left the country illegally more than three decades ago.

Abdel-Gawad explained that this head is part of a group statue depicting King Ramses II sitting next to some Egyptian gods.

He added that upon receiving the piece, it was deposited in the warehouses of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, in preparation for the necessary maintenance and restoration work.