Smuggled Ancient Egyptian Artefacts Finally Arrive Home From Italy

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - Four ancient Egyptian artefacts that were illegally smuggled to Italy have found their way home.

The artefacts were handed over to the Egyptian Embassy in Rome some time ago and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt received them from the foreign ministry.

Image credit: Egypt's Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities

The repatriated artefacts include a part of a coffin lid carved in wood and decorated with rows of hieroglyphic text from the Late Period that was recovered in 2017; a ceramic vase and a part of a statuette depicting a female figure from the Graeco-Roman period recovered in 2018; and a 2.5cm tall Djed pillar recovered from Turin Museum in 2022.

The Djed pillar amulet was one of the most commonly placed on the mummy. It is also considered one of the more ancient and commonly found symbols in ancient Egyptian religion.

A pillar-like symbol in Egyptian hieroglyphs representing stability and endurance. It is associated with the creator god Ptah and Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead. It is commonly understood to represent his spine.

Image credit: Egypt's Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities

According to tradition, a number of  such symbols could be strung around the lower torso, or placed singly on the upper chest or around the neck.  The pillar's form was believed to represent the pole around which grain was tied, but it later became the representation of the backbone of the god, Osiris.

A spell in the Book of the Dead activates such an amulet. It says:

‘Raise yourself up Osiris! You have your backbone once more, O weary-hearted One; you have your vertebrae!’

The djed came to be associated with Seker, a hawk or falcon god of the Memphite Necropolis in the Ancient Egyptian religion,  then with Ptah, the Memphite patron god of craftsmen. Another important god Ptah - a creator god and patron deity of craftsmen and architects - was often referred to as "the noble djed", Ptah carried a scepter that was a combination of the djed symbol and the ankh, the symbol of life.

Image credit: Egypt's Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities

Later, Ptah gradually came to be assimilated into Osiris, and  by the time of the New Kingdom, the powerful djed symbol was firmly associated with Osiris.The valuable artefacts successfully returned to Egypt thanks to" the fruitful collaboration between the Egyptian and Italian authorities,” said Mostafa Waziry, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)

"Egypt has a plan to restore its historical and archaeological heritage by combating smuggling endeavours and through agreements against the illegal transfer of artefacts," explained Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, Supervisor of the Antiquities Repatriation Department at the SCA.

Origina story - Ahram Online

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer