Egypt Says 3,000-Year-Old Bracelet Stolen, Melted Down, Sold for $4,000

Egypt’s Interior Ministry said the bracelet was stolen by a restoration specialist and eventually sold in Cairo’s jewelry district.

A tourist sits beside Pharaonic statues displayed at the Grand Staircase of the Grand Egyptian Museum during a partial trial opening of the museum in Giza, Egypt, on Oct. 15, 2024. Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

A 3,000-year-old gold bracelet that went missing from an Egyptian museum earlier this month was stolen and melted down, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said on Sept. 18.

Egypt’s Antiquities and Tourism Ministry had earlier reported the loss of the bracelet, which belonged to King Amenemope of the Third Intermediate Period, who ruled Egypt around 1,000 B.C.