Egypt 's former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass has launched a petition to urge Germany to return the pharaonic bust of Queen Nefertiti, which is currently housed in Berlin's Neues Museum. Believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC, a German archaeological team discovered the painted limestone bust in 1912 and shipped it to Europe a year later. It was uncovered in the remains of the city of Amarna , the short-lived capital under Pharaoh Akhenaten, Nefertiti's husband.
The city was abandoned after he died in 1335 BC. Amarna sits on the east bank of the Nile River and is located in the province of Minya. What does the petition say? Hawass asked for the return of the bust, saying it was removed from Egypt illegally after its discovery more than a century ago.
"We announce today that Egypt — this is the national committee, it is not a government committee — asks for the return of the bust of Nefertiti," Hawass said. "What I need from everyone here is to go to my website..
.hawasszahi.com, and you will sign, one signature, to show that you would love for this bust to come back.
" Hawass said he is not calling for the repatriation of artifacts taken out of Egypt legally. His campaign is focused on repatriating "three main beautiful objects" including the bust of Nefertiti, the Rosetta Stone and the Dendera Zodiac . The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian stone bearing inscriptions in several languages and scripts, which led to the understanding of hieroglyphic writing.
It is curr.