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U.S. authorities will return a beautifully painted 3,000-year-old coffin to Egypt, Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni said on Monday.
Decorated with colorful religious scenes, the ornamented coffin contains the remains of a man called Imesy.
Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) had said last year that the coffin likely belongs to pharaoh Ames of the 21st Dynasty, which ruled over Egypt from 1070-945 B.C.
The nearly 5-foot-long wooden coffin was confiscated by U.S. customs officials at Miami International Airport from a Spanish merchant in 2008.
The dealer did not possess the necessary documentation to prove ownership of the artifact.
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Suspecting that the object might have left Egypt illegally, U.S. authorities began an investigation.
"They determined that the coffin had left Egypt after 1970 as the earliest public record of the piece dated to 2007 when it was exhibited in Madrid," Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities said in a statement.
Arrangements are currently underway for the coffin to be handed over Hawass on March 10 in Washington, D.C., during an official gala ceremony.
Hawass claims to have secured the return of some 5,000 treasures since his SCA tenure.
Pictures: courtesy of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
Tags: Ancient Civilizations, Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Mummies
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