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Houston Museum Returns Looted Sarcophagus to Egypt

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The Late Dynastic Period sarcophagus may contain the remains of a priest called Ankhenmaat.

Egyptian wooden sarcophagus
AFP via Getty Images

The Houston Museum of Natural Science has returned an ancient wooden sarcophagus to Egypt after determining that the artifact had been looted from Abu Sir Necropolis and smuggled into the United States in 2008, The Guardian reports. In a Cairo ceremony, the Late Dynastic Period sarcophagus, which may contain the remains of a priest called Ankhenmaat, was given back to Egypt on Monday. “This stunning coffin was trafficked by a well-organized network that has looted countless antiquities from the region,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in announcing that the sarcophagus would be returned in the fall.

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