Approximately 23 ancient bronze and silver coins and 195 archaeological artifacts from the Predynastic to Ptolemaic periods, including funerary masks, amphorae, painted gauze pectorals, wooden sculptures, bronzes, Oshabti statuettes, and a sarcophagus lid, were unearthed clandestinely in southern Egypt. A priceless treasure was returned this morning to the Ministry of Antiquities of the Republic of Egypt at the headquarters of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. The event was attended by the Prosecutor of Salerno, Corrado Lembo, and the Commander of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, General Fabrizio Parrulli. Egypt was represented by Ambassador Hesham Badr, Mohamed Ezzat, Chief Prosecutor at the Office of the Egyptian Attorney General, and Moustafa Waziry, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt. The extraordinary recovery and subsequent seizure—which occurred in May 2017 in the customs area of the port of Salerno—by Carabinieri officers from the Naples Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, in collaboration with officials from the Customs Agency and the local Superintendency, stemmed from a customs inspection of a container apparently intended for the transport of household goods only. All the artifacts, examined jointly by Italian consultants and experts from Egypt, were deemed to originate from the ancient city of El Miniya, 250 km south of the capital Cairo. In February 2018, the Minister of Antiquities, Eiustianus, announced the discovery of an exceptional necropolis containing a funerary complex of over 1000 statues and 40 sarcophagi, likely dating from between 672 and 332 BC.
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