Following comprehensive investigations carried out by the Tourism and Antiquities Police (TAP), a collection of missing ancient Egyptian artefacts were recovered buried by antiquity smugglers in the desert south of Saqqara necropolis. According to a release submitted by TAP, the restituted collection includes of an anthropoid painted wood sarcophagus, two wooden statues depicting the god Ptah and seven pieces of inscribed limestone which were parts of a false door. The objects were stolen from Saqqara necropolis and taken out of the archaeological space in order to be sold.

The Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Police have succeeded in recovering two well-preserved limestone reliefs stolen in 1986 by an international antiquities smuggling gang from Saqqara archaeological storehouses. The objects belong to the Fifth Dynasty tomb of the king's royal hairdresser Hetepka, discovered by British archaeologists Geoffrey Martin in the late 1960’s at the Old Kingdom cemetery at Saqqara necropolis.

Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Police succeeded in recovering an ancient Egyptian limestone relief which had been reported missing during the chaos that followed the January 25 Revolution. The relief, which was discovered by the Czech archaeological mission in Abusir, was one metre tall and 60 centimetres wide. It depicted four walking geese with a hieroglyphic text.

A spokesman at the British Museum said museum directors received a request from Egypt to borrow the Rosetta stone for the opening ceremony of Grand Egyptian Museum. Esmi Wilson said the museum secretary is studying this request, as there are reports saying the Egyptian government wants the stone back permanently.

In an attempt to preserve and protect archaeological sites threatened by urban development, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) is preparing a list of sites deemed at risk, which will be distributed to archaeological institutes throughout the country. It will be also posted on the SCA website to be promoted internationally.

The Permanent Committee of Antiquities (PCA), led by Mostafa Amine, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), approved the resumption of several archaeological works carried out by foreign archaeological missions.

According to Atef Abul Dahab, head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities, the 26th dynasty tomb was found during routine digging work in Mansheyet Al-Tahrir Street in Ain Shams to lay the foundations of a residential house. Workers stumbled upon what is believed to be a stony wall engraved with hieroglyphic text.

Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on Thursday appointed Mustafa Amin the new antiquities chief tasked with protecting the country's treasures. Amin, who had been heading the Islamic archaeology department of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), took over from Mohammed Abdel Fattah who resigned last week amid strike pressure.

Azza Farouq, dean of Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, has revealed that 3000 unregistered antiquities were found recently in the rest rooms of the faculty’s museum on campus. Preliminary reports said that the pieces are rarer than others displayed in major Egyptian or foreign museums, and that they have a high value. Farouq has requested the Giza Prosecution to investigate the matter and establish the reason for the negligence.

Egypt's antiquities chief resigned after a series of strikes by employees, saying the institution that looks after the country's treasures has been left paralysed.