Universidad belga devolverá a Egipto un esqueleto humano de hace 37.000 años

El Cairo, 18 ene (EFE).- La Universidad belga de Lovaina ha aceptado devolver a Egipto un esqueleto humano de hace unos 37.000 años y que salió de ese país tras su descubrimiento en 1980, informó hoy el Ministerio egipcio de Antigüedades.

En un comunicado, el ministro de Antigüedades, Mamduh al Damati, señaló que las autoridades egipcias se han coordinado en las últimas semanas para contactar con dicho centro universitario y negociar la recuperación del esqueleto.

Además, apuntó que la Universidad de Lovaina "ha mostrado su voluntad" de cooperar para devolver la pieza a Egipto "por su importancia histórica".

El esqueleto fue descubierto en 1980 por una delegación de dicha universidad en la zona de Naslat Jater, en la provincia de Sohag, en el sur de Egipto.
 

35,000-year-old skeleton to return to Egypt

The prehistoric human skeleton unearthed in the Nazlet Khater area of the Upper Egyptian city of Sohag [Credit: Ahram Online]

Following comprehensive diplomatic efforts between Egypt and Belgium, Leuven University has agreed to return a 35,000-year-old human skeleton to Egypt which it has held since 1980.

The skeleton came into the possession of the university according to the division law. The law allowed foreign missions to have a share in the artefacts they discovered at archaeological sites in Egypt.

Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty explained that the skeleton was unearthed in the Nazlet Khater area of the Upper Egyptian city of Sohag during an excavation by the Leuven University archaeological mission.

After diplomatic efforts, he continued, the university agreed to return the skeleton because it is a very important artefact in the history of Egypt.

Ali Ahmed, head of the Stolen Antiquities Recovery Section, told Ahram Online that the skeleton will arrive next week and a committee is now studying how to put it on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat.


Actualización: Belgium to return 35,000 year-old skeleton of ‘Nazlet Khater man’ to Egypt | MadaMasr
The “Nazlet Khater man,” whose remains are among the oldest discovered in Egypt, is due to be returned to Egypt within the next few days.

Unearthed in 1980 near the village of Nazlet Khater, in the south-central governorate of Sohag, by a team of archaeologists from the University of Leuven, the skeletal remains of this prehistoric man were transported to Belgium where they have remained for the past 35 years, closely studied, analyzed and catalogued...