IAA Seizes Smuggled Egyptian Coffins
Bible and Archaeology News
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced this week that two beautifully decorated and well preserved wooden coffin lids dating to the time of Egypt’s pharaohs were seized during a raid on a Jerusalem antiquities shop. IAA authorities believe the lids were originally robbed from tombs in Egypt’s Western Desert and then smuggled to Dubai and then possibly on to Europe before finally arriving in Israel to receive authentication certificates from local antiquities dealers. The IAA’s radiocarbon tests authenticated both pieces and showed that the lids, which were sawed in half to facilitate smuggling, are between 2,500 and 3,500 years old. After learning of the seizure, the Egyptian government requested that Israel return the lids to their country of origin.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced this week that two beautifully decorated and well preserved wooden coffin lids dating to the time of Egypt’s pharaohs were seized during a raid on a Jerusalem antiquities shop.
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