Belgian authorities announced on Friday the return of a 3,000-year-old wooden sarcophagus and a wooden beard figurine to Egypt, concluding a decade-long legal and investigative effort. The sarcophagus, seized in Brussels in 2015 following an Interpol alert initiated by Egyptian authorities, was handed over to the Egyptian ambassador during a ceremony held in the cloister of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.
"After 10 years of investigations and legal proceedings, it is truly an act of justice to return to the country of origin a stolen piece of its cultural heritage," said Prosecutor Julien Muanil during the ceremony, according to Le Figaro.
The event was attended by authorities and diplomats, marking the end of a "long and complex" judicial procedure.
The wooden sarcophagus, dating from the Ptolemaic period (4th–3rd century BCE), is adorned with hieroglyphs identifying the former occupant as "Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered," which translates to "he who was given by Harpocrates." Harpocrates is a Hellenized form of the god Horus, son of Osiris and Isis.
Notable features of the sarcophagus include gold-colored elements, fine wood carvings, and pieces of colored glass, demonstrating exceptional craftsmanship. The gold-colored face and bluish hair indicate that the deceased was presented as transformed into Osiris, the god of the underworld in ancient Egyptian belief. According to the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office, Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered was a member of the Egyptian upper class.
Since their seizure, both the richly decorated sarcophagus and the beard figurine had been kept at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels. The artifacts were returned to Egypt following the conclusion of a decade-long investigation and legal process. The prosecutor's office refrained from commenting on who possessed the artifacts at the time of their seizure.
The investigation began after a notification from Egyptian authorities to Interpol, which led to the seizure of the sarcophagus and beard figurine by Belgian police in 2015. Interpol was mobilized immediately after the alert, demonstrating the effectiveness of international cooperation in combating the trafficking of cultural artifacts.
Four years ago, Belgium returned two other pieces in the same case: a statue of a walking man and a ushabti—a figurine that the deceased took in his grave to perform work for him in the afterlife. These pieces were seized at the same time as the sarcophagus and the beard.
Written with the help of a news-analysis system.