Gang Melts Down 3,000-Year-Old Pharaoh's Gold Bracelet... Earns Only a Pittance

Melted Down to Evade Authorities
Proceeds Amounted to Only 5.6 Million Won

A group that stole and sold an ancient Egyptian pharaoh's gold bracelet has been apprehended by authorities. It was revealed that, in an attempt to evade tracking, they melted down the 3,000-year-old artifact and sold it for less than 6 million won, shocking the public. On September 18, international media outlets such as the BBC and CNN, citing an announcement from Egypt's Ministry of Interior, reported that the pharaoh's gold bracelet was stolen from a major museum in Cairo and subsequently melted down.

The gold bracelet decorated with lapis lazuli beads is an artifact from Egypt's Third Intermediate Period, belonging to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned from 993 to 984 BCE. Photo by Egypt Tourism and Antiquities Department

The artifact disappeared from the safe in the restoration research lab of the Egyptian Museum on September 9. According to the investigation, a museum restoration expert stole the artifact and sold it to a merchant. It was then melted down for gold, along with other items, after passing through a workshop and a gold refiner in Cairo's jewelry district. The gold bracelet, decorated with lapis lazuli beads, is an artifact from Egypt's Third Intermediate Period, belonging to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned from 993 to 984 BCE. This bracelet was discovered in Tanis, Egypt, during the excavation of Pharaoh Psusennes I's tomb. Amenemope had originally been reburied there after his own tomb was looted.

Suspects involved in the theft of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh's gold bracelet estimated to be 3,000 years old. Egyptian Ministry of Interior

After learning of the theft, the Egyptian government immediately distributed images of the bracelet to all ports, airports, and border checkpoints in the country and launched a large-scale investigation. Authorities eventually arrested four suspects and questioned them about the whereabouts of the gold bracelet. The suspects confessed to melting down and selling the bracelet, and the proceeds from the crime amounted to only 1,940,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately 5.6 million won). Experts estimate that, had it been auctioned after the theft, the bracelet could have been valued at tens of thousands of US dollars or more. The suspects are believed to have melted it down specifically to avoid being traced by authorities. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square houses more than 170,000 artifacts, including the famous gold funerary mask of King Amenemope.