France hands over seized archaeological pieces to Egypt

Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-27 03:06:33|Editor: yan
Video PlayerClose

PARIS, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- France on Thursday gave back to Egypt eight archaeological pieces seized by the French customs in January 2010, French officials said.

The expertise of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre Museum revealed that the antiques, including statuettes and tablets, dated from the first millennium before Christ and "were authentic Egyptian cultural property," ministries of foreign affairs, culture and finance said in a joint statement.

"These archaeological objects are formally prohibited for export from Egyptian soil without the authorization of the Egyptian government," they added.

The pieces were seized by French customs in January 2010 as part of an operation targeting a network that transferred Egyptian cultural property to Britain via France, the statement added.

"I welcome this restitution made today to Egypt, which shows France's determination to combat trafficking in cultural property and to protect threatened heritage," said Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011105521367083001