Hunt for Egyptian pharaoh's missing bracelet

Airports on alert for smugglers after 3,000-year-old treasure disappears from museum

The bracelet went missing from a lab where it was being restored. Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

A gold bracelet that belonged to an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh has gone missing from a museum.

Ports and airports have been put on alert for smugglers after the 3,000-year-old item disappeared from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

It was being restored in a laboratory and was not on display when it vanished. Egyptian prosecutors are now examining the case.

The golden bracelet, adorned with deep-blue beads, belonged to King Amenemope, who reigned in about 1000 BC during Ancient Egypt's 21st Dynasty.

“An image of the missing bracelet has been circulated to antiquities units across all Egyptian airports, seaports and land border crossings nationwide as a precautionary step to prevent smuggling attempts,” Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said.

The ministry said it delayed going public with the bracelet's disappearance to assist investigations. However, images had begun circulating on social media that authorities said showed the wrong bracelets.

The bracelet's disappearance comes weeks before the official opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum. Reuters

A specialist team has been set up to take stock of all the artefacts still in the lab. The museum in Tahrir Square houses more than 170,000 artefacts, including King Amenemope's gold funeral mask.

The disappearance comes weeks before the long-awaited official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is scheduled for November 1.

Museum workers are preparing to transfer the treasures of King Tutankhamun's tomb from the Tahrir Square museum to the new site before the opening, which is being touted as a major cultural milestone by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's government.

In 2021, Egypt staged a high-profile parade transferring 22 royal mummies, including Ramses II and Queen Hatshepsut, to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Old Cairo.