'Tutenkhamun's sister' stolen from Egypt museum

Egypt has issued an international alert for the return of a 'priceless' 3,000-year-old statue of Tutenkhamun's sister that was stolen from an antiquities museum.

The carved limestone figurine, called Daughter of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, dates from the 14th Century BC, and has not been seen since the Mallawi City Museum in central Egypt was raided in August.

The statue vanished along with 1,000 other exhibits after the museum was looted during clashes between police and Islamic extremists in Mallawi this summer.

Referring to the fact it was the most prized exhibit at the museum, Archaeologist Monica Hanna told the Mirror: "I think the looters knew what they were taking."

According to the Daily Telegraph, the statue had been due to be transferred to another new museum currently being built to honour the family of Akhenaten, Tutenhkhamun's father.

During the riots in August, looters took everything they could carry from the museum, leaving only 46 pieces behind.

More than 600 have now been returned or seized by police. But hundreds of pieces, including a collection of Greek gold coins as well as the statue, have not yet been recovered.

Related articles

Ancient Egyptian statue mysteriously spins itself at Manchester museum

'Stolen' museum tortoise was trapped in lift