Swiss to return pharaoh's 'eye': 11-09-2008
Following the news that pigeons are vandalising the eye-sockets of the Sphinx, Switzerland is set to return a pharaoh's 'eye' to Egypt.
The 'eye' was stolen from a statue of Egyptian King Amenhotep III 36 years ago and sold at auction, before being purchased by a German antiquities dealer.
It then found its way to a Swiss museum, where it has resided ever since, according to Egyptian cultural minister Faruk Hosni.
"The eye is around 50 centimetre long and was stolen from Amenhotep III's statue, which was discovered in 1970 in his Luxor temple," he explained.
"The thieves sold it to an American antiquities dealer who then auctioned it at Sotheby's."
Antiquities expert Zahi Hawass explained that the jewel will now be returned to Egypt.
"The Swiss museum unconditionally accepted to return the eye of Amenhotep III back to Egypt," he said.
Travellers in Egypt will be interested to learn that Amenhotep III ruled for 40 years of the 18th dynasty, which ended in 1550.
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