Cairo teen returns stolen statue of Pharaoh Akhenaton after he finds it near a garbage bin; returns it to museum
Cairo teen returns stolen statue of Pharaoh Akhenaton after he finds it near a garbage bin; returns it to museumA teenager found the priceless statue of Pharaoh Akhenaton near a garbage bin after it was stolen from the Egyptian Museum during anti-regime protests, Egypt's antiquities chief said yesterday.
The museum's world-renowned collection was burgled and several artifacts went missing last month, including statues of King Tutankhamun and Pharaoh Akhenaton and many of the looted antiquities have been returned or discovered, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said.
In addition to the Akhenaton statue, the missing Heart Scarab of Yuya was recovered near the museum gardens, where wooden fragments belonging to a damaged coffin were also found.
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A search team found one of the eleven missing shabtis of Yuya and Thuya underneath a showcase.
Fragments belonging to the statue of Tutankhamun being carried by the goddess Menkaret have been found; all the located fragments belong to the figure of Menkaret.
However, the country still is sifting through the damage from the tumult of the past few weeks.
Dr Sabry Abdel Aziz, head of the Pharaonic Sector of the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs, reported yesterday that the tomb of Hetep-Ka in Saqqara was broken into, and the false door was stolen along with objects stored in the tomb. And in Abusir, a portion of the false door was stolen from the tomb of Re-Hotep.
The newly-returned statue of Akhenaton had been display at the Egyptian Museum. It is about 3 inches high and depicts the king standing, wearing a blue crown, and holding an offering table in his hands. The statue is composed of limestone, with the exception of an Egyptian Alabaster base.
A 16-year-old protester found the sculpture near a rubbish bin in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the demonstrations which brought down Hosni Mubarak, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said.
He took the statue home, where his uncle Sabri Abdelrahman, a professor at the American University in Cairo, recognised the piece and returned it to authorities, Hawass said.
"The statue is one of the most beautiful statues of Akhenaton, which highlights the skill of Egyptian artists at the time," Egyptian Museum director Tarek al-Awadi said.
The statue would be restored before going back on display in the museum.
Egypt is my landAn ailing Mubarak refuses to leave his homeland and has refused asylum from other countries, said an official. Reports are also circulating that the former ruler refused to accept a phone call from US President Barack Obama because he felt "humiliated and embittered".
Who is Akhenaton?Akhenaton was a ruler of the 13th Dynasty. Last year, Egypt announced that DNA tests had confirmed him to be the father of famed King Tutankhamun.
