A rare limestone relief depicting the vizier Khentika painting the three seasons of the ancient Egyptian calendar has vanished from his tomb in the Saqqara necropolis. The tomb, discovered in the 1950s and used for storage until 2019, was found to be missing the relief by a British mission in May. Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced the theft and referred the matter to the public prosecutor for investigation.
The disappearance is described as an "archaeological tragedy" by Egyptologist Gabriele Pieke, as the motif is one of only two known in ancient Egyptian art. The theft follows a recent incident where a pharaoh's bracelet was stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and melted for gold, highlighting concerns about the safety of Egyptian antiquities amid an active black market. The news also coincides with the impending appointment of former minister Khaled Al-Anani as UNESCO's new director general.