Is Nefertiti Coming Back To Cairo?
Sep 13th, 2007 by admin
The Egyptian government is hoping to loan the bust of Nefertiti from Germany for 3 months so that it can be used as part of a display at the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. The $550 million project, located near the Giza pyramids, is set to be complete by 2012.
Back in April the chances of such a loan looked slim indeed as the German Culture Minister, Bernd Nuemann, had grave concerns over the transport of the bust, citing conservational issues. He also claimed that German had a lawful right to own the bust, something Zahi Hawass is less convinced about.
Hawass has done a fine job of procuring ancient Egyptian antiquities from around the world in recent years but is still after a few key artifacts. Another that he has his eye on is the Rosetta Stone which currently resides in the British Museum. So far, his efforts have proved fruitless as the British Museum continues to stall, stating that they are still reviewing his request.