Security officials at Cairo International Airport have seized 10 metal coins dating back to the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods of Egyptian history, and a metal cross, dating back to the Coptic period.
The Egyptian antiquities ministry on Tuesday morning said airport security staff alerted them to the existence of the items, which were being carried by a departing traveller.
Experts were sent to examine the items, according to the ministry. They confirmed that they were indeed smuggled antiquities.
The coins, which were quickly catalogued by the team, were of varying shapes and sizes.
Some of them bore ancient Greek inscriptions and others were decorated with depictions of Roman emperors. One of the coins dated back to the Byzantine era.
The cross was the most elaborate piece in the group of smuggled artefacts.
Made entirely of metal, the cross is decorated with several circular inlays and a ring from which it can be hung on a chain.
Artefact smuggling is rampant in Egypt, a fact that Egyptologist Bassam El Shamaa say is owed to the abundance of antiquities left behind by the many different civilizations that have ruled Egypt throughout its millennia-long history.
Antiquities officials have in recent months intensified their efforts to catalogue the country’s relics to ensure a record of them is kept in case they are stolen or smuggled abroad.
However, Mr El Shamaa told The National that there is more to be done to protect the country’s heritage, as many important pieces continue to be smuggled out of Egypt and sold at some of the world’s most prestigious auction houses, including Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
RACECARD
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
