Looted ancient sarcophagus returned to Egypt from US

An ancient wooden sarcophagus is displayed during a handover ceremony at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said on Monday (Mohamed Salah/AP/PA)

An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences in the US was returned to Egypt after US authorities determined it was looted years ago.

Egyptian officials said the repatriation is part of Egyptian government efforts to stop the trafficking of its stolen antiquities. In 2021, authorities in Cairo succeeded in getting 5,300 stolen artefacts returned to Egypt from across the world.