"Unbelievable Mystery"... 3,000-Year-Old Pharaoh's Gold Bracelet Disappears from Museum

Disappearance Discovered During Inventory Check of Museum Collection

A 3,000-year-old gold bracelet once owned by a Pharaoh has disappeared from a museum in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, prompting authorities to launch a full-scale investigation.

Exterior view of the Egyptian Museum, the missing Pharaoh's gold bracelet. Getty Images · Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

According to CNN and AFP on the 17th (local time), the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the previous day that a 3,000-year-old gold bracelet had vanished from the restoration room of the Egyptian Museum.

The bracelet, reportedly undergoing restoration, features a golden band adorned with spherical lapis lazuli beads. The museum explained that this artifact belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope of the 21st Dynasty. The loss was discovered while reviewing the inventory for the upcoming "Treasures of the Pharaohs" exhibition scheduled to be held in Rome, Italy, at the end of next month. However, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities explained that they did not immediately announce the loss of the bracelet in order to proceed with the investigation.

To prevent smuggling or illegal export, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities distributed photos of the bracelet and search notices to all domestic airports, airlines, and land border checkpoints, activating a nationwide monitoring network. The ministry also added that an expert committee had been formed to conduct a thorough inspection of other artifacts in the restoration room.

Experts in the international archaeology and collectibles market have suggested several possibilities: the missing artifact could appear through online auctions or dealers; it could be melted down and converted into gold bars to avoid identification; or it could be secretly added to a private collection. Experts especially warned that there is still a strong demand for the illegal trade of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

In Egypt, the smuggling of ancient artifacts and the looting of underwater relics have long been serious issues. Last year, there was a reported case near Alexandria where two men were arrested while attempting to steal multiple ancient artifacts from local waters.