Ancient coins, documents delivered to Iraqi, Chinese embassies

CAIRO – 28 August 2017: Ancient coins and documents were delivered to the Iraqi and Chinese embassies during a handover ceremony held by the Ministry of Antiquities in the Egyptian Museum on Sunday.


Photo courtesy of Ministry of Antiquities

UNESCO and bilateral cooperation agreements oblige Egypt to seize foreign antiquities that are smuggled across its borders and hand them over to the specialized embassy to assert whether they were compiled in the list of heritage antiquities of that country or not, said the Head of the Central Administration of the Archaeological Units in Egyptian Ports Ahmed Al-Rawi.

The Archaeological Units in Cairo International Airport and Egyptian port managed to seize in June 44 coins, and dated them back to the Iraqi Royal Kingdom during the reign of King Faisal I, King Faisal II, and Ghazi, affirmed Al-Rawi.


Photo courtesy of Ministry of Antiquities

The Chinese embassy received 13 Chinese instruments and papers after affirming that these instruments and papers are Chinese antiquities dating back 100 years, said Director General of Evaluation and Follow-up Department Iman Abdelraouf.

After the handover ceremony, the Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled Elanany in cooperation with Faculty of Art Education inaugurated an exhibition that will last till September 10 called ‘Pharaonic Faces’ to connect artists with museums and archaeological areas and to consolidate cultural identity.