U.S. Customs confiscate ancient Egyptian artifact in Tennessee

A stone sculpture that had just arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, was found to be a centuries-old Egyptian treasure. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials seized the item after correctly identifying it, according to a statement from the organization.

The antique came from Europe on August 17, and according to the paperwork, it is older than 100 years. According to the statement, it was being sent from a dealer to a private customer in the United States.

According to the statement, CBP officials confirmed the ancient item was legitimate and may be up to 3,000 years old after consulting with the University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology.

The item is described as a “Egyptian canopic jar lid of the funerary god called Imsety,” according to the statement. Usually, the jars contained the internal organs of the mummies; in this instance, the jar contained Imsety’s liver. Authorities estimate that it was created between 1069 and 653 B.C.

It was discovered that the jar was protected by bilateral agreements and a 1983 statute that “restricts bringing certain archaeological and ethnological items into the nation,” according to CBP, which said that its officials confiscated the jar.

The statement also claimed that the shipper’s “contradictory assertions about the reported value of the item” were what prompted the seizure.

The jar was sent to Homeland Security Investigations, who will further investigate it, according to CBP.