The Antiquities Ministry is pressing charges against three members of a German archaeological mission that worked in Egypt in 2002 for allegedly smuggling artifacts out of the pyramids.
The ministry asked the public prosecutor to include Germans on a watch list and notify Interpol and UNESCO.
The archaeologists allegedly stole a cartouche of King Cheops from a room above his burial chamber and posted it on YouTube.
The ministry decided to stop dealing with the mission of Dresden University and the German laboratory that analyzed the samples smuggled from the pyramid. It has also rejected the findings of the German experts, which cast doubt on the Great Pyramid’s construction date and the pharaoh for which it was built.
Minister Mohamed Ibrahim prohibited visits to closed archaeological sites without the approval of the competent authorities. He also ordered the Tourism and Antiquities Police to escort missions during special visits and submit a report of their activities.
Former Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said the Germans told the inspectors of the site that they are filming a documentary about the pyramid.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
