Egyptians expressed widespread outrage this week following the theft and destruction of a 3,000-year-old gold bracelet belonging to Pharaoh Amenemope, stolen from Cairo’s Egyptian Museum and melted down for its gold value. The incident, which occurred on September 9, 2025, has sparked calls for tighter security measures to protect Egypt’s priceless cultural heritage, with critics pointing to systemic lapses at the museum.

The bracelet, adorned with a lapis lazuli bead and linked to Amenemope of the 21st Dynasty (1070–945 BC), was taken from a restoration lab lacking security cameras, according to Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy. Speaking on television Saturday, Fathy attributed the theft to “laxity” in museum procedures, noting that an ongoing investigation by prosecutors aims to uncover further details. The artefact, part of a collection being prepared for an exhibition in Italy, was sold for approximately $3,800 to a silver shop owner in Cairo’s Sayyeda Zainab district, then resold for $4,000 to a gold workshop where it was melted into new jewellery.

The Interior Ministry reported the arrest of four suspects, including a museum restoration specialist who confessed to passing the bracelet to a contact. Security footage released by authorities captured a shop owner weighing the bracelet and paying a suspect, though discrepancies in the footage raised questions about its authenticity. The ministry seized the proceeds from the sale, but the irreversible loss of the artefact has deeply pained Egyptians, who hold their ancient heritage in high esteem.

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Prominent voices, including archaeologist Monica Hanna and human rights lawyer Malek Adly, criticised the museum’s security protocols. Hanna, dean at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport, called for halting overseas exhibits until better safeguards are in place, while Adly described the theft as an “alarm bell” for improved protection of artefacts in storage and display. The incident, evoking memories of the 2010 theft and recovery of Vincent van Gogh’s “Poppy Flowers”, underscores ongoing challenges in safeguarding Egypt’s treasures, including the Tanis necropolis collection, restored in 2021 with the Louvre Museum.

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