Egypt demands return of antiquities - Front Page - repatriation requested of several foreign institutions - British Museum encouraged to return Rosetta Stone - Brief Article

In mid-July, Egypt contacted several foreign institutions to ask for the return of a number of key Egyptian antiquities. Among them are some of the world's best-known examples of Egyptian art. Echoing the pleas of the Greeks for the repatriation of the Elgin marbles, Egypt has appealed to the British Museum for the return of the Rosetta Stone. Dated 196 B.C., the stone is engraved with Greek and hieroglyphic texts that enabled scholars to decipher ancient Egyptian writing. It was unearthed by Napoleon's troops in the Nile Delta village of Rosetta during the 1799 French invasion of Egypt and wound up in British hands after the 1801 Treaty of Alexandria. It has been on display in the British Museum since 1802. The Egyptian government is also seeking the return of the bust of Queen Nefertiti by Berlin's Egyptian Museum, the Metropolitan Museum's statues of Queen Hatshepsut and Paris's landmark obelisk in the Place de la Concorde.

Zahi Hawass, director of Egypt's Council of Antiquities in Cairo, initially requested some of the works for a three-month exhibition next year to mark the 100th anniversary of the Egyptian Museum and to inaugurate a new wing. He told the press, however, that the items in question were stolen from Egypt and should be voluntarily returned to the country for good. He indicated that if the requests were ignored, the Egyptian government would pursue the claims more aggressively. Responding to the Rosetta Stone inquiry, a British Museum spokesperson dismissed the application. "The trustees do not consent to the loan of what might be called 'iconic' objects. To loan such pieces would result in disappointing the five million or so visitors who come to the museum each year." So far, there have been no other official museum responses to Egypt's requests.

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