1992 - Stolen Statue
When a gang of thieves invaded a secluded temple in 1992, stealing one of the temple's most important relics: a statue of Ramses the Great. Soon after the thieves began carrying it away, the Egyptian Antiquities Police, located about 100 miles from the stolen artifact, received an alert that the head of a large statue had been stolen. This area was very difficult to reach, being almost in the middle of the desert. These men and women always work hard to keep Egyptian artifacts where they belong, though this specific statue was extremely important. Ramses the Great was an extremely influential Pharaoh, composing the first peace treaty in history. Fortunately, the antiquities police were eventually able to track the thieves and get the statue back in Egypt's rightful possession.
But damage had already been done; not to this statue, but to the ancient mummy's that teach us so much about Ancient Egypt. Over the years, mummy's had been damaged or even destroyed as some tomb raiders believed that they could disturb that person's opportunity of going to the afterlife. Even the most secure tombs built in an effort to save the individual from the gods's betrayal were raided, it's contents stolen to either prove a point or simply to make the thief rich. Later in history, ground up mummy was even used as medicine or in alcoholic drinks., viewed as a luxury. Of course, we now know that these ancient mummy's are to be cherished for their educational value in the world of Egyptian culture. Unfortunately, the times leading up to today have caused Egypt a great deal of suffering over artifacts that are rightfully theirs. Even now, Egypt is still fighting to get some of these artifacts returned to their home land. |