Plundered Art: Recovering the Head of Ramses II

Plundering the Past:
Recovering the Head of Ramses II
Egyptian police recover teh magnificent statue's head from a farmhouse

by David Johnson

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Although there has been considerable looting in Egypt over the years, authorities there can also point to some successes in recovering stolen property. Last year the Egyptian Museum held an exhibit comprised entirely of recovered stolen artifacts. The booty spanned Egyptian history and included Greek and Roman coins, Islamic coins and metalwork, and Coptic textiles.

Several years ago, the head of Ramses II was stolen. Using a generator and an electric saw, the thieves cut the head, which weighed one ton, from the magnificent statue, and dragged it 70 miles across the desert. It was loaded onto a truck and covered with vegetable boxes.

Egyptian police recovered the head from the giant statue of Ramses II at the entrance to the El-Sebua temple in Nubia. Authorities found it hidden in a farmhouse.

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