3,000-year-old Amenemope bracelet stolen from Cairo museum

A 3,000 year old gold bracelet that once belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope vanished from the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo in early September, and authorities say the artifact was stolen, sold and ultimately melted down. The item disappeared from the museum's restoration laboratory in Tahrir Square as staff prepared objects for an exhibition abroad, prompting a nationwide search and criminal investigation, officials said.

The bracelet, made from a single band of gold and set with a spherical lapis lazuli bead, belonged to King Amenemope of the 21st Dynasty, who ruled during Egypt's Third Intermediate Period. Museum materials describe Amenemope as a lesser known but intriguing sovereign whose tomb was rediscovered in 1940. The institution holds more than 170,000 artifacts, including Amenemope’s gilded funerary mask.

Accounts of the timeline varied. The Antiquities and Tourism Ministry reported the object went missing during restoration work and that staff discovered its absence while preparing dozens of items for shipment to a planned exhibition in Rome. The Interior Ministry later said the bracelet had been taken from a secure safe on September 9 and that the theft was detected...