Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass has called for the closure of an English museum that displayed ancient Egyptian skulls for sale, stating that such actions are “unethical.”
Hawass stated in a television interview that “the display of ancient Egyptian skulls for sale is unethical, disrespectful, and atrocious,” emphasizing that “selling mummies at an auction is a strange behavior.”
He reiterated that he is “pleased with what an English deputy said and her remarks about them being colonial actions.”
The sale of 18 Egyptian archaeological skulls was announced at an auction within a museum in London, owned by an English military officer and archaeologist. It was reported that this auction has been halted, although Hawass did not mention the name of the museum he demanded to be closed.
Colonial Actions
He added that “European museums and Western countries should stop colonial actions.”
He explained that “Egyptian antiquities were taken during the French and English colonial period and are still present in European museums,” noting that European and American museums continue to practice colonial actions by “buying stolen artifacts.”
The archaeologist mentioned that “in the 16th and 18th centuries, England and France sent pirates to Luxor, and at that time, thousands of mummies were taken out of Egypt, which were used for medical purposes,” confirming that “there is no museum in America, Britain, or France without Egyptian mummies, and all these mummies are not owned.”
He emphasized that “there is an Arab billionaire who acquired an Egyptian statue through an English auction.”
