A 3,000-year-old bracelet was reportedly stolen from a museum in Egypt and then melted down for gold.
The bracelet was allegedly taken from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo by a restoration specialist on Sept. 9, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, per the BBC.
The restoration specialist is believed to have contacted a silver jeweler, who then sold the bracelet to a gold jeweler for $3,735, according to the outlet. The gold jeweler later sold it for $4,025 to a gold foundry worker, who melted it down along with other pieces. The ministry said that all four people involved confessed to their alleged crimes after being arrested, per the BBC.
PEOPLE reached out to the Egyptian National Police and Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities for comment on Thursday, Sept. 18, but did not receive an immediate response.
Before the arrests, the Ministry had shared information about the missing bracelet on Facebook on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
The Ministry said that images of the bracelet had been sent to “antiquities units across all Egyptian airports, seaports, and land border crossings nationwide” to prevent smuggling.
They also explained that they delayed telling the public about the alleged theft to “ensure […] the progress of the investigation.”
The Ministry added that the bracelet had belonged to “King Amenemope from the Third Intermediate Period.”
Amenemope was “a little-known but intriguing sovereign of Egypt’s 21st Dynasty,” ruling from 1001–992 B.C., according to the Egyptian Museum website.
He is perhaps best known for the “splendid funerary mask” found in his tomb, made from “thick sheets of hammered gold” and designed to capture the king’s features with “idealized serenity and timeless radiance.”
