Four arrested after 3,000-year-old Egyptian gold bracelet stolen and melted down

Adorned with spherical lapis lazuli beads, the bracelet was taken from a safe in the museum nine days ago by a restoration specialist, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

It said the woman contacted a silver jeweller show then sold the bracelet to a gold jeweller for £2,750.

He then sold the piece for £2,970 to a gold foundry worker who melted it down with other jewellery.

According to the Ministry, four individuals were arrested and have since confessed, and all the money has been seized.

Legal action will be taken against these people, according to authorities.

Two days ago on social media the Ministry announced it had "taken immediate legal and administrative measures regarding the disappearance of a bracelet from the restoration laboratory at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir".

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It added: "A specialised committee has been formed to inventory and review all artefacts kept in the restoration laboratory.

"In addition, an image of the missing bracelet has been circulated to antiquities unit across all Egyptian airports, seaports, and land border crossings nationwide as a precautionary step to prevent smuggling attempts."

It is understood the disappearance was first detected as museum staff prepared to transport dozens of artefacts for an exhibition in Rome.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC) is the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East, and houses over 170,000 artefacts.

According to its website, it houses "the largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the world" and has exhibits which span "the Pre-Dynastic Period till the Graeco-Roman Era (5500BC - 364AD).".

Since its opening in 1902, the museum claims to have welcomed more than 100,000,000 visitors

Among other ancient artefacts, it houses the funerary mask of King Amenemope, fashioned form thick sheets of gold.

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