A 3,900-year-old Middle Kingdom relief is handed to Egypt's embassy in London
The carved wall relief was handed over in London and will now be returned to Egypt, the embassy said.
Another piece of Egypt's past is on its way home. The Egyptian Embassy in London has received a carved wall relief from the Middle Kingdom, about 3,900 years old, ahead of its return to Egypt, CairoScene reported.
The embassy confirmed the handover took place in London as part of the continuing effort to recover Egyptian antiquities from abroad. Egypt's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ashraf Sweilam, thanked those who made the handover possible and said it showed international recognition of the value of Egypt's heritage. He said recovering Egyptian antiquities remains a state priority and stressed the role of international cooperation in protecting cultural property and bringing pieces back to their country of origin.
The Middle Kingdom, roughly 2050 to 1710 BC, is the period many historians see as a high point of Egyptian art and writing, and carved reliefs from its tombs and temples are among the pieces most sought by collectors abroad.
The handover is the second piece of repatriation news from Britain this week. On Tuesday a Glasgow museum confirmed it had received a request to send the mummy of the priest Nekht back to Egypt.
What happens next: the embassy did not say where the relief will go on display or when it will arrive. Returned pieces usually go to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities for study first, and the date and museum have not been announced.