Two pieces of an ancient Egyptian anthropoid coffin lid recuperated from Israel will soon arrive back in Egypt, Nevine El-Aref reports The painted lid of an anthropoid coffin belonging to an as yet unidentified nobleman will be flown home within the next two weeks. Their homecoming follows almost a year of negotiations between Egypt and Israel. The anthropoid lid, which is broken into two pieces, was seized by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the showroom of a shop in the Old City of Jerusalem. Osama El-Nahhas, director-general of the Repatriation of Antiquities Department at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), told Al-Ahram Weekly that the lid was stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country after being cut into two pieces, probably to facilitate fitting it into a regular suitcase, and modified to appear as fake replicas. It was first taken to Dubai, from where another flight took it to Israel. It subsequently turned up in a shop in the Old City of Jerusalem, and last September MSA officials asked for its return. Mohamed Ibrahim, the minister of state for antiquities, told the Weekly that the ministry had sent an official letter to the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv requesting it to take all the necessary legal and diplomatic steps to restitute both artefacts. After several meetings and negotiations with its Israeli counterparts, the IAA bought the lid from the shop owner and offered it to Egypt. Ibrahim said that within the next two weeks the lid would be brought to Cairo, where it would be taken to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square for restoration before being placed on special display in the museum's foyer. Ibrahim confirmed that the lid was now being stored in a climate controlled room at the IAA, where archaeologists who have examined it say it dates back to the 16th century BC and are in a well-preserved condition. Each part of the lid is of carved wood, painted on plaster and decorated with colourful religious scenes.
