A priceless 3,000-year-old bracelet belonging to Egyptian Pharaoh Amenemope was stolen from Cairo's Egyptian Museum and melted down for its gold value.

According to The Daily Caller, four individuals have been arrested in connection with the theft of the ancient artifact that disappeared while undergoing restoration. The Egyptian Interior Ministry announced the arrests on Thursday, following an investigation that revealed a complex chain of transactions leading to the bracelet's destruction.

The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry had initially reported the bracelet missing on Tuesday, prompting an immediate investigation into its disappearance from the museum. Officials quickly mobilized to locate the irreplaceable piece of Egyptian heritage that dated back to the Third Intermediate Period.

Museum Restoration Specialist Orchestrated Ancient Artifact Theft

A female restoration specialist from the Egyptian Museum has been identified as the primary suspect who removed the bracelet on September 9. The specialist allegedly coordinated with the owner of a silver shop to sell the ancient artifact.

The silver shop owner then sold the bracelet to a gold workshop owner in Cairo for approximately $3,735, according to officials cited in the report. The transaction represented a fraction of the bracelet's true historical and cultural value, which experts consider incalculable.

The gold workshop proprietor continued the chain of illegal transactions by selling the artifact to a worker at a gold smelter for around $4,025. The final buyer then destroyed the irreplaceable piece of history by melting it down with other jewelry items.

Authorities Secure Confessions and Recover Proceeds From Sale

Egyptian law enforcement officials have obtained confessions from all four individuals involved in the theft and destruction. The authorities have also seized the money exchanged during the illegal transactions.

The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry formed a special committee to conduct an inventory of all artifacts in the laboratory to ensure no other items were missing. Photos of the stolen bracelet were distributed to antiquities units stationed at all of Egypt's borders, airports, and seaports in an attempt to prevent its removal from the country.

The bracelet was part of a collection scheduled to be displayed at an exhibition in Rome, Italy. The exhibition, titled "Treasures of the Pharaohs," was set to open in October at a museum in the Italian capital.

Significant Loss From Rare Intact Pharaonic Burial Collection

The destroyed bracelet belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope, who ruled Egypt during the 21st Dynasty from 993 to 984 B.C. His historical significance is amplified by the rarity of his burial site's condition.

Amenemope's burial was one of only three fully intact burials discovered from ancient Egypt. This makes the loss of any artifact from his tomb particularly devastating to Egyptologists and historians studying this period.

French Egyptologists Pierre Monet and Georges Goyon discovered the burial site in 1940, though World War II delayed its full excavation. The delay in excavation inadvertently preserved the site until proper archaeological techniques could be applied.

Why this story matters

This story is important because it underscores the vulnerability of global cultural heritage—even in secure institutions. The permanent loss of a 3,000-year-old royal artifact is a blow not only to Egypt’s history but to humanity’s shared understanding of ancient civilizations. Preventing future incidents depends on learning from the failures that allowed this one to occur.

In conclusion, a 3,000-year-old bracelet belonging to Pharaoh Amenemope was stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo by a restoration worker and sold through a chain of illegal transactions before being melted down for gold.

Four individuals were arrested, their confessions obtained, and the money recovered, but the artifact was lost forever. The theft occurred ahead of a planned exhibition in Rome and has ignited calls for stricter museum security and better preservation oversight.