Authorities take steps to retrieve Hapi
Egypt, Local, 7/5/2002

Egypt has taken executive and legal measures for the return of the statue that belongs to the Bahbit Al-Hagar Temple in Gharbiya Governorate.

The statue of Hapi, god of the Nile, went missing along with nine other pieces in 1990. With the help of photographs of the temple before and after the theft, the Egyptian authorities supported their claim to the piece when it was up for auction in New York.

As soon as information on the auction appeared on the Internet, the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) sought the help of Interpol to stop the sale.

The authorities had also supplied antique dealers worldwide with details of the stolen item.

SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawas said that he would be dispatching a delegation to New York to claim the piece, and added that unrelenting efforts had been made to track down the statue through a variety of channels.

Hawas said that a reference book published l990 included details about this particular piece from the Bahbit Al Hagar Temple, which lies fifty kilometres north of Tanta in Lower Egypt.

The SCA had photographs of the statue, Hawas said.

All specialised monthly catalogues compiled by auctioneers are being checked daily to spot ancient Egyptian artifacts that have found their way abroad over the last few years. A similar review is under way on the Internet .

The Bahbit Al Hagar Temple has been waiting for two decades for work to save it from erosion and theft, although 90 per cent of its treasures are still on the site.

The temple ruins and nearby tombs are still prey to thieves. The 3,000 year-old temple, known as the "House of Feasts" was used not only for funerals but also for special celebrations.

In 1987, UNESCO promised help with the reconstruction of the temple and to bear some of the costs, but the offer was later withdrawn.

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