Egypt reclaims dozens of stolen antiquities — but can Nefertiti and the Rosetta Stone ever return?

Dozens of Egyptian artefacts long held abroad have returned to Egypt over the past three months from the United States, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as part of the nation's latest global campaign to reclaim its looted antiquities.

The new year brought home seven repatriated artefacts from the United States on 4 January, including an amulet of the deity Set, two stone human heads, a stone scarab, a Ushabti statue, a mummified fish, and a mummified falcon head.

Earlier in December 2025, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities received the two pieces from Belgium, a gilded wooden coffin from the Late Period of ancient Egypt (664-332 BC) and a wooden beard of a statue from the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC), after a lengthy legal and diplomatic process that started in 2016.

The United States also sent 36 pieces of artefacts, 24 of which were rare manuscripts, early in November. In the same week, the Netherlands announced that it would send a stone bust to Egypt, likely of an ancient Egyptian high-ranking official, estimated to be over 3,500 years old.

The returns stand as a testament to Egypt's efforts to assert control over its dispersed heritage through diplomatic alliances and legal pressure.

Yet the effort exposes the limits and rigidity of international law and raises questions about why artefacts such as the bust of Nefertiti, the Rosetta Stone, and the Dendera Zodiac remain on display thousands of miles from the Nile, with no clear path home.

"There has been strong cooperation over the past decade between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Antiquities, and Interior," Bassam el-Shammaa, Egyptian historian and Egyptologist, told The New Arab, noting how the collaboration has helped successfully recover many stolen Egyptian artefacts.

"Just look at the Benin Bronzes being returned from European museums," he said.

Restoring Egypt's cultural property

Egyptian Egyptologist Monica Hanna cited improved documentation as a factor in the country's repatriation success. 

"We no longer dig for treasure," she said. "We study stratigraphy, excavate methodically, and publish our findings, which is one way Egypt can protect its artefacts and prevent false claims." 

This meticulous record-keeping also guides the work of Egypt's Department of Antiquities Repatriation. Established in 2002 under the guidance of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the department monitors artefacts in museums and auction houses worldwide, comparing them with the council's official records, according to Mohamed Ismail Khaled, the SCA's secretary general.

"If documented artefacts are identified, the SCA requests their return from the holder, whether it is a museum, exhibition, or an auction house," Mohamed told The New Arab.

"If the request is refused, the council pursues legal action, engaging a local law firm and presenting documented evidence that the artefacts were taken illegally to file the case before an international court."

A case can be resolved quickly or take up to 1.5 years. In some instances, objects are immediately repatriated to Egypt under agreements the country has signed with nations such as the U.S. and Italy to recover cultural property once it is seized.

Mohamed stressed that the Department for the Repatriation of Antiquities does not differentiate or favour objects. "Any antiquity taken illegally must be repatriated, whether it qualifies for museum display or not," he explained. 

Monica resonates with Mohamed's stance, agreeing that all artefacts are valuable, as each contributes to our understanding of Egypt's past, and not having them brings serious archaeological concerns.

"Losing these cultural heritage objects means losing Egypt's full historical context for them," Monica told The New Arab.

"We lose the full story. Often, we don't even know where or how an object was discovered, losing its stratigraphic context. At times, we also lose its provenance, and what was once an important historical object is reduced to just another artefact."

She emphasised the importance of repatriating ancient Egyptian artefacts and raising awareness about heritage. 

"If people understand why we need to bring back our heritage, why buying artefacts on the black market is illegal and unethical, and why such acts should be reported, they would stop buying them," Monica said, noting that this would also discourage looting and illegal excavations in Egypt, helping to protect its archaeological sites.

To streamline repatriation, the SCA maintains a database and a digital registration system for antiquities. 

"It helps greatly to recover and restore antiquities," Mohamed added, noting that artefacts stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir during the 2011 revolution were quickly recovered.

However, when it comes to ancient antiquities taken earlier in the 20th century, repatriation is not easy due to the 1970 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention.

The limits of international law

Officially titled the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, it protects cultural heritage and curbs the illegal trade in antiquities.

However, it primarily targets illicit transfers since its entry into force in 1970. Artefacts taken from Egypt before 1970 — like the mummy of Shep-en-Isis, which arrived in Switzerland in 1820, and the mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer in the US, which disappeared from Egypt sometime between 1966 and 1973 — are not protected by the law.

"They were taken legally, according to the law," Mohamed shared.

Such artefacts were taken under laws that allowed limited private ownership, legal export in certain cases, and partage, the division of finds between foreign missions and Egypt during the colonial and early post-colonial periods.

Under Egypt's 1983 Antiquities Law 177, which asserts full state ownership and bans the trade in antiquities, any artefact removed from the country after 12 August 1983 is considered stolen.

However, artefacts removed from Egypt before 1970 cannot be legally claimed under the convention.

"While the 1970 law contains provisions for the recovery of antiquities and the protection of antiquities, in practice, many countries do not implement or abide by its provisions," Bassam said.

He urged amending the 1970 UNESCO convention, especially Article Four, which he described as the most unjust clause. 

The article defines a state's cultural heritage under the treaty as items created or found within the country, acquired with the consent of its authorities, or legally gifted or purchased.

These categories determine what objects qualify for protection and restitution under the Convention, a concept he strongly disagrees with.

Mohamed shares the same sentiment, saying that setting 1970 as a reference point is far too late. 

"It should have been much earlier, since during the colonial era, control over cultural property was in the hands of the colonising powers, not the nations where the artefacts originated," he said.

Bassam added, "Amending the article could be possible, since it affects many countries that have lost their cultural heritage, including the United States, Libya, Palestine, Yemen, China, and Greece," noting that these nations might join Egypt in gathering the signatures needed to amend Article Four.

According to Mohamed, Egypt is working with 15 UNESCO member countries, including China, Iraq, and some Latin American countries, through the Forum of Ancient Civilisations to repatriate artefacts looted during colonial times.

In December 2025, during a meeting in Athens, Greece, the forum discussed drafting a joint memorandum to UNESCO, urging a reconsideration of the law or its enactment date, a hopeful step for the return of ancient Egyptian artefacts abroad, Mohamed explained. 

However, Bassam warns that hope is not enough. He called on Egyptian authorities to bear their fangs.

"Velvet diplomacy is over, and the era of gentle negotiations is finished," he said. 

Nadine Tag is an Egyptian journalist committed to telling stories about human experiences, reporting real issues, and uncovering the truth