SHAH ALAM – Egypt is making a sweeping move to bring home its scattered heritage.
In 2025, the country has repatriated dozens of ancient artefacts that were looted or smuggled abroad, signalling a renewed global commitment to cultural justice.
According to the State Information Service (SIS), the Foreign Affairs Ministry said 36 ancient artefacts were returned from the United States (US) to Egypt on Nov 6.
These included 11 objects seized by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, 24 rare Coptic and Syriac manuscripts and a painted limestone relief from the 18th Dynasty, previously held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The repatriation effort extended beyond the US. In August, Egypt also secured 13 artefacts from Britain and Germany following coordinated diplomatic and legal efforts involving both countries.
According to international news agencies, the pieces have been deposited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for conservation before being exhibited.
Items retrieved from Britain included a New Kingdom limestone funerary stela, a red baboon amulet, a green faience vessel, a blue faience funerary jar from the 18th Dynasty and parts of a bronze crown once adorning a statue of the god Osiris from the 22nd to 26th Dynasties. Several funerary masks and amulets were also recovered.
Germany returned items including a skull and hand from an unidentified mummy and an ankh-shaped amulet, the ancient Egyptian symbol of life. According to the Egyptian Embassy in Berlin, Hamburg authorities voluntarily notified Egypt after verifying the pieces were illegally taken.
Supreme Council of Antiquities secretary-general Mohamed Ismail Khaled said the British collection was recovered after London’s Metropolitan Police confiscated the items.
"The recovery followed confirmation that they had been smuggled through an international antiquities network," he was reported as saying.
Earlier this year, Egypt also received 21 artefacts from Australia, including a wooden ushabti statue, coffin fragments and the funerary stela known as Sesh Nefertem.
Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathi said the ongoing recovery reflected the state’s unified commitment to heritage protection.
"The recovery of this group reflects the commitment of the Egyptian state, with all its institutions, to protect its unique civilisational heritage," he said in a statement shared on the ministry’s official Facebook page.
He added that the collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and Interpol demonstrated "the depth of cooperation and joint coordination in combating illegal trafficking in cultural property."
The repatriation wave came amid growing calls across Africa for the return of cultural treasures.
According to reports, Mozambican Foreign Minister Maria Manuela Lucas said in July that all artefacts removed from the continent "should be repatriated."
In June, the Netherlands returned 119 looted objects, including royal regalia and historic plaques, to Nigeria, a move widely seen as part of a global shift toward redress.
As Egypt restored its cultural narrative on home soil, officials said the newly recovered treasures will undergo conservation and restoration before being showcased in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.