Egypt reclaimed the 3,400-year-old stolen statue of King Ramses II, the country’s Tourism and Antiquities ministry revealed.
The statue was stolen from the Ramses II temple in the ancient city of Abydos in Southern Egypt more than three decades ago.
Egyptian authorities spotted the artefact when it was offered for sale in an exhibition in London in 2013. It moved to several other countries before reaching Switzerland.
The Ministry confirmed that the statue “was part of a mass statue depicting King Ramses II seated next to several Egyptian gods”. The Ministry further stated that Egypt had rights to the piece and that it left its borders illegally.
The statue is currently in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but not on display, the ministry noted that the artefact will undergo restoration and maintenance.
Meanwhile, Ramses II is one of ancient Egypt's most powerful pharaohs. Also known as Ramses the Great, he was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and ruled from 1279 to 1213 B.C.
Egypt collaborated with Swiss authorities to establish its rightful ownership. Switzerland handed over the statue to the Egyptian embassy in Bern last year, but it was only recently that Egypt brought the artefact home.
