Study Reveals Prominent Thief Involved in Theft of Valuable Egyptian Antiquities

Egypt witnessed urgent actions after former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, demanded that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and UNESCO hold an international conference to repatriate Egyptian artifacts from the British Museum due to its lack of proper stewardship of these artifacts.

In this context, an archaeological study conducted by specialist researcher in Greek and Roman antiquities, Dr. Hussein Daqeel, sheds light on the British national figure “Wallis Budge” (1857-1935), an archaeologist and one of the most prominent plunderers of Egyptian antiquities during the 19th century AD. The study delves into his story of looting the papyrus of Ani, known as the “Book of the Dead,” currently housed in the British Museum.

Daqeel points out that “Wallis Budge” began his career as an assistant curator of Egyptian antiquities at the British Museum. The museum sent him on an official mission to Egypt for the first time in 1886 to retrieve valuable archaeological pieces. In Egypt, “Lord Cromer” received him with noticeable reluctance as he was dissatisfied with the English methods of dealing with and collecting Egyptian antiquities. However, this reluctance did not affect Budge, who was determined to achieve his goal even if it meant collaborating with antiquities smugglers. He made numerous archaeological discoveries, but he often used questionable and unethical means for those discoveries, which angered some officials from both the English and French governments in Egypt. Nevertheless, Budge paid little attention to these concerns, claiming loyalty to the British Museum and pursuing his own objectives.

Archaeological expert Dr. Abdel Rahim Rihaan, a member of the Supreme Council of Culture, highlights this study, explaining that “Wallis Budge” sought to establish strong relationships with locals in Luxor and Cairo. He gained access to tombs that he had previously looted. He then went to Aswan, where he was joined by a group of senior British military officials to assist him. From there, he extracted a large collection of artifacts and sent them to Britain.