The mummy returns

last updated 8 January 2015

Cairo

A royal mummy that could be the body of Ramses I was returned to Egypt this week, nearly 150 years after it was looted from a tomb. An Emory University museum in Atlanta, which bought the relic from a Canadian museum three years ago, gave it to the Egyptian Museum after determining that the mummy might be what’s left of the founder of ancient Egypt’s most famous line of pharaohs. Egyptian scientists won’t do a DNA test, but said that even if the mummy wasn’t the famous king, Egypt was thrilled to have it back. Archaeology official Zahi Hawas called on other museums to return their loot, particularly the Berlin Museum, which has a famous bust of Nefertiti, and the British Museum, home to the Rosetta stone.