Egypt Recovers 30,000 Artefacts Over Past Decade

Egypt has recovered approximately 30,000 artefacts over the past 10 years, according to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy, who presented the figure during the ninth ministerial meeting of the Forum of Ancient Civilisations, held in Athens. The meeting brought together member states including Armenia, Bolivia, China, Greece, Iraq, Iran, Italy and Peru. Fathy attributed the recoveries to tighter legislation, sustained diplomatic cooperation and continuous monitoring by the General Administration of Recovered Antiquities, which tracks auction houses and international markets to identify illegally exported objects. A series of conservation projects carried out with local and international partners was also reviewed during the announcement. These include coastal protection works at the Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria; groundwater reduction at the Abu Mena site, which enabled its removal from UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger; similar groundwater mitigation at the Kom Ombo Temple in Aswan and the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa in Alexandria; and restoration projects at the Dendera Temple in Qena, the Great Hypostyle Hall at the Karnak Temples, and the tombs of Tutankhamun and Nefertari on Luxor’s West Bank. The meeting concluded with the adoption of the Athens Declaration 2025, which emphasised education and public awareness in heritage conservation, encouraged cultural cooperation and community participation, and called for stronger international collaboration, technology use and legal frameworks in line with the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Member states agreed to develop a shared set of principles for provenance research in museum and cultural institution collections and to establish a network of national contact points for coordination. Italy will chair the forum’s ministerial meeting in 2026, with Egypt set to assume the chair in 2027.