Customs officials seized a 3,000 year-old ancient Egyptian artifact at the port of Memphis last week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Thursday that they had seized the artifact, a lid from a canopic jar used in ancient Egyptian funerary rites, at the port of Memphis, Tennessee. According to CBP, the item is protected by federal law and several bilateral treaties. The shipper claimed it was an antique stone statue and made conflicting statements.
“On Wednesday, August 17, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the port of Memphis, TN intercepted an ancient Egyptian artifact shipped from Europe,” CBP said in a press release Thursday. “The shipment was manifested as an antique stone sculpture over 100 years old, and sent from a dealer to a private buyer in the U.S.”
