Priceless ancient bracelet stolen from Egyptian Museum melted down for gold: Interior ministry

CAIRO – 18 September 2025: A priceless ancient bracelet dating back to Egypt’s Late Period (664–332 BC), which was stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, was melted down for gold, the Interior Ministry has revealed.

The bracelet vanished from a secure iron safe inside the museum's restoration laboratory, the ministry said in a statement.

Authorities identified the perpetrator as a female restoration specialist working at the museum, who stole the artifact on September 9 while on duty.

The investigation further revealed that the suspect contacted a silver shop owner in Cairo’s Sayeda Zeinab district, an acquaintance, who facilitated the sale of the ancient bracelet to a gold workshop owner in the famed El Sagha gold market for LE 180,000 (around $3,700).

The bracelet was then resold to a worker at a gold foundry for LE 194,000 (around $4,000), who melted it down along with other scrap gold to be reworked into new jewelry.

 

Security forces apprehended all individuals involved. Upon questioning, the suspects confessed to their roles in the theft and sale, the statement read.

Authorities also recovered the total amount of money exchanged in the illegal transaction.

The loss of this irreplaceable artifact, believed to be up to 2,688 years old, has sparked widespread outrage among historians, archaeologists, and the general public.

The melted bracelet, which may once have adorned the wrist of an ancient Egyptian, is believed to now exist only in the form of cash.

By being melted down alongside other scrap gold, the artifact was permanently erased from history.
The amount it was sold for is a mere fraction of its immeasurable historical and cultural value, a priceless loss that can never be recovered.