Mostafa Waziri, top official at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, takes a look with a magnifier at an ancient wooden sarcophagus during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Salah
An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt.
The Egyptian government is trying to stop the trade in antiquities. 5,300 artifacts were returned to Egypt from all over the world.
The sarcophagus dates back to the Late Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt, according to Mostafa Waziri.
Waziri said that the sarcophagus may have been owned by an ancient priest named Ankhenmaat.
It was handed over to the US at a ceremony in Cairo.
More than three months after the Manhattan District Attorney's Office determined the sarcophagus was stolen, it was handed over. According to the Manhattan District Attorney, it was smuggled into the US through Germany in 2008.
An ancient wooden sarcophagus is displayed during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Salah
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, center right, and Mostafa Waziri, top official at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, talk in front of an ancient wooden sarcophagus during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Salah
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, center, standing in front of an ancient wooden sarcophagus, speaks during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday. Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed Issa, second right, listens. Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Salah
An ancient wooden sarcophagus is displayed during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Salah
An ancient wooden sarcophagus is displayed during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Salah
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, center right, and Mostafa Waziri, top official at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, talk in front of an ancient wooden sarcophagus during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Salah
Bragg said at the time that the coffin was stolen from the region. The object will be returned to Egypt.
The Metropolitan Museum in New York featured a gilded coffin that was smuggled out of Egypt. The piece was bought for about $4 million. It was brought back to Egypt.
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