However small pieces pinched from king Ramses’ mummies, their retrieval was significant
CAIRO: Remnants of hair, linen bandages and resin used in the mummification of the 19th dynasty King Ramses II have been returned to Egypt following negotiations with France.
The return of these significant pieces, which were given to a group of French scientists in the 1970s to carry out tests aimed at treating the mummy in France, was announced at a press conference that staged on Tuesday at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Culture minister Farouk Hosni told reporters that the return of these samples has been the fruit of negotiations started by Egypt and France with regard to the issue.
Said Hosni: “Besides reflecting the sound rapport between both countries, the presence of these samples today at the Egyptian Museum also reflects Egypt’s keenness, and devoted effort to press ahead with retrieving all its artifacts that have been stolen and sold illegally over the years.
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Supreme Council of Antiquities, related that the story of these objects came to light last November when they were put up for sale on the Internet for 200 euros by a Frenchman who claimed that he had inherited these relics from his father who was a member of the scientific team that examined the mummy of Ramses II in France in 1976.
These objects include five samples of the ancient Egyptian royal’s hair, along with a lock of his hair and ten samples of resin from the mummies of king Ramses II and his son Merneptah as well as cuttings from the linen bandages that made up part of Ramses II’s wrappings.
Informed Hawass: “Some 41 samples of king Ramses II’s mummy were given to the scientific mission that had taken up the task of examining the royal’s body in 1976.
“Some random samples from the mummy of his son king Merneptah were also taken by the same mission after the antiquities authorities turned down a request to ship his body to France.
Hosni noted that when the retrieval of these tiny pieces might sound insignificant for some, it was still important to highlight it so as to underline that however small the stolen antiquities, they will be brought back.
Said Hosni: “In collaboration with the Egyptian embassy in Paris, and the concerned French authority, Egypt has managed to recover these samples.
“Early last week Egyptian Egyptologist Ahmed Saleh, director of the archaeological site at Mit Rahina, traveled to Paris where he was handed over all these pieces.
Responding to a question on how these samples will be used in the future, Hawass said that the recovered objects would be displayed next to the mummies that are exhibited at the hall of the Royal Mummies at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
He added: “Panels describing the results of treatment undertaken in 1976 to preserve and restore the mummy of Ramses II will also be available.
Ramses II’s mummy (1304-1237 BC) was discovered in 1881 at a cache within Al Deira Al Bahari, Luxor. It was interred there along with the mummies of several ancient Egyptian royals’, which, due to thefts, had been moved from their original tombs.
As for king Merneptah’s mummy, it was also found in cache that was tucked in king Amenhotep II’s tomb, Valley of the Kings, Luxor.
