Cairo denies sending Ancient Egyptian artefacts to Israel for examination

Egypt’s ministry of tourism and antiquities denied that it transferred pharaonic coffin covers from an Egyptian museum to Israel last week for examination after reports emerged.

The coffin was alleged to have been sent to the the Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem to be examined by a CT scan to help Ancient Egypt experts understand more about how they were crafted.

"The collaboration between the museum and the hospital could set a precedent for using cutting-edge medical technology on historical artifacts to better understand the past," wrote the Jewish News Syndicate on its website.

The alleged scan was broadcast by Israeli media, as social media users shared images.

نقل أغطية توابيت فرعونية مصرية إلى مشفى شعاري تسيدك الإسرائيلي في القدس لفحصها بأشعة مقطعية ومعرفة كيفية بنائها. pic.twitter.com/MibSgJmimS

— أحمد دراوشة (@AhDarawsha) May 21, 2023

⭕️بالفيديو التلفزيون الاسرائيلي يعلن الخبر
⭕️التصوير بالأشعة لأغطية توابيت مصرية🇪🇬قديمة للكشف عن أسرارها في اسرائيل
حيث تم نقل أغطية توابيت فرعونية من متحف في مصرالى إسرائيل🇮🇱 لفحص التصوير المقطعي في مستشفى شعار بالقدس
الفحص هدفه كشف أسرارها وتأكيد أن الفراعنة أصلهم من إسرائيل pic.twitter.com/7XK4rEIxyT

— ســـــــندس❣️ (@sondos_09) May 22, 2023

Despite this, head of the museums department at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Momen Othman, said the news was "completely false".

He confirmed that no artefacts have been allowed out of Egyptian museums and abroad recently, whether for examination or for study.

The ministry called on media outlets and social media users to fact check before spreading false news and verify such reports with the relevant authorities.

Egypt and Israel have shared diplomatic relations since 1979.