The fate of the five ancient Egyptian fragments removed from the walls of a nobleman's tomb in Draa Abul-Naga on Luxor's West Bank and subsequently displayed in the Louvre was finally decided on Monday, reports Nevine El-Aref During President Hosni Mubarak's visit to Paris this week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy handed back the last of the 3,200-year-old fragments during a special ceremonial at the Elysée Palace. The controversy over the fragments goes back to 2008 when, during a visit by German scholars to the Louvre Museum, they were surprised to find them there. Investigations showed that the fragments were removed from the tomb and subsequently acquired by the Louvre between 2000 and 2002. The controversy over their provenance began in 2008 when a visiting group of German archaeologists were surprised to find the pieces in the collection of the Louvre. As soon as the presence of the fragments was confirmed, Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), contacted the museum asking for their return. UNESCO's 1972 Convention for the Protection of the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage clearly states that artefacts are the property of their country of origin and pieces smuggled out must be returned to their homeland. Despite France being a signatory to the convention the Louvre was initially loathe to return the fragments and referred the matter to the French Ministry of Culture. In response the SCA halted French-led excavations at Saqqara and at Deir Al-Medina on Luxor's west bank. Following the SCA's reprisal French Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterrand called for an urgent meeting of the French National Museum Scientific Committee, the body that oversees French museums, which then recommended the return of the fragments to Egypt. Mitterrand decided to implement the recommendation immediately, even though the items had been acquired by the Louvre in good faith, insisting that the move reflected France and the Louvre's commitment to take "resolute action against the illegal trafficking of cultural goods". The fragments will undergo restoration at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo before making their last trip to Luxor, where they belong.
