35,000-year-old skeleton to return to Egypt

Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh el Damati on Sunday said a 35,000-year-old human skeleton would be restored next week.

In statements, the minister added that Belgium's Leuven University has agreed to return the skeleton to Egypt which it had since 1980, following comprehensive diplomatic efforts.

The skeleton came into the possession of the university according to the division law. The law allowed foreign missions to have a share in the artifacts they discovered at archaeological sites in Egypt.

The skeleton was unearthed in the Nazlet Khater district of the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag during an excavation by the Leuven University archaeological mission.