Egyptians outraged after ancient pharaoh's bracelet was stolen from Cairo museum and melted down

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https://apnews.com/article/egypt-antiquities-museum-pharaoh-bracelet-stolen-13e6958fe0be0765a6ee77446025d7b7

Egyptians outraged after ancient pharaoh’s bracelet was stolen from Cairo museum and melted down
By SAMY MAGDY
Updated 10:51 AM CDT, September 21, 2025


This undated photo provided by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities shows a 3,000-year-old bracelet that belonged to an ancient pharaoh, which was stolen from Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum and then melted down for gold. (Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities via AP)

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians reacted with outrage this week after officials said that a 3,000-year-old bracelet that had belonged to an ancient pharaoh was stolen from Cairo’s famed Egyptian Museum and then melted down for gold.

Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said in televised comments late Saturday that the bracelet was stolen on Sep. 9 while officials at the museum were preparing artifacts for an exhibit in Italy. He blamed “laxity” in implementing procedures at the facility and said that prosecutors were still investigating.

The bracelet, containing a lapis lazuli bead, belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned about 3,000 years ago. Authorities said it was taken from a restoration lab at the museum and then funneled through a chain of dealers before being melted down. The minister said the lab didn’t have security cameras.

Four suspects have been arrested and questioned, including a restoration specialist at the museum, the Interior Ministry said.

According to the Interior Ministry, the restoration specialist who was arrested confessed to giving the bracelet to an acquaintance who owns a silver shop in Cairo’s Sayyeda Zainab district. It was later sold to the owner of a gold workshop for the equivalent of about $3,800. It was eventually sold for around $4,000 to a worker at another gold workshop, who melted the bracelet down to make other gold jewelry.

The loss of a treasure that had survived for three millennia was painful to many people in Egypt, where there is great esteem for the nation’s ancient heritage.