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STORY: :: File

:: Egyptian archeologist launches a petition for the

return of a Queen Nefertiti bust from Berlin

:: Cairo, Egypt

:: September 7, 2024

:: Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archeologist

"We announce today that Egypt - this is the national committee, it is not a government committee - asks for the return of the bust of Nefertiti, and this is the letter, what I need from everyone here is to go to my website, you will only open the website, hawasszahi.com, and you will sign, one signature, to show that you would love for this bust to come back."

:: Berlin, Germany

:: Hawass says the artifact was illegally

removed from Egypt after its discovery in 1912

:: His campaign also aims to bring back

the Rosetta Stone and the Dendera Zodiac

Nefertiti's famous painted limestone bust was uncovered at Tell el-Amarna, around 300 km (185 miles) south of Cairo, in 1912 by a German archaeological mission, which shipped it to Berlin the following year.

Amarna was the short-lived capital of Nefertiti's husband, the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten, who reigned until about 1335 B.C.

In his petition launched on Saturday, Hawass asked for the return of the bust, saying it was removed from Egypt illegally after its discovery.

Hawass said he is not calling for the repatriation of artifacts taken out of Egypt legally. His campaign is focused on repatriating "three main beautiful objects" including the bust of Nefertiti, the Rosetta Stone and the Dendera Zodiac.

Officials at Berlin's Neues Museum were not immediately available for comment.