A trio of people who tried to rob an ancient site weighing 10 tons by using an excavator were caught by the local police.
According to local media such as Al Jazeera on the 11th (local time), a trio of people who attempted robbery using an excavator were caught in the Aswan region of southeastern Egypt.
They planned to excavate a granite statue of Ramses II, which is 3 meters high, 1 meter wide and weighs 10 tons, and was arrested near a quarry in the south of Aswan.
The area is home to numerous archaeological relics, including the 'Great Temple of Abu Simbel', many obelisks and pyramid stone quarries, which are considered one of Egypt's most prosperous structures, and some of them are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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▲ Some of the published names
On this day, the authorities released an official statement, revealing that they had detained a group of three who attempted to excavate, and released photos of them.
In addition, it was revealed that a video containing the process of excavating a statue believed to be an ancient artifact was secured from the confiscated electronic devices.
However, the statement did not mention how much the historic site was damaged as a result of their crimes.
Regarding the case of the robbery of the entire statue, Professor of Anthropology Sarah Parcak said, "It is different from previous robberies," but said, "We protect major tourist attractions among thousands of historical sites in Egypt, but In some cases, it is not easy to protect and manage them,” he said.
Meanwhile, over the past 10 years, Egypt has recovered about 29,000 artifacts that were illegally exported abroad, and it is said that crimes related to cultural assets in Egypt are in a serious situation.
In 2013, Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Mohamed Ibrahim, said, "The plundering of Egyptian sites and the export of cultural assets are centuries-old businesses and must be crimes that Egyptians will have to fight for years to come." Antiquity' also revealed that the looting of Egyptian sites can be confirmed from space through satellites.
(Photo = @moiegy Twitter,