Zahi Hawass, Egypt's most prominent archaeologist, has reignited his campaign to retrieve one of the world's most recognizable ancient artifacts: a limestone bust of Nefertiti, carved around 1351 BCE and held in Berlin for over a century.
The bust arrived in Germany in 1912, when German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt excavated it from Tell Al-Amarna and shipped it back. It's been on display at Berlin's Neues Museum since 2009. For decades, Hawass and others have argued it belongs in Egypt. The German government has maintained the export was legal at the time.
What's changed now is Egypt's ability to make the case. In 2024, the Grand Egyptian Museum opened near Giza—a sprawling 968,000-square-foot facility that has drawn at least 15,000 visitors daily. Hawass argues this museum, with its climate control and display standards, demolishes the Western argument that institutions outside Europe and North America can't properly care for ancient treasures.
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Start Your News Detox"You cannot say that Egypt cannot protect its artifacts," Hawass told the Washington Post. "There is no museum that has the quality of display of the Grand Museum."
The repatriation of cultural artifacts has become one of archaeology's most contentious issues. Major institutions like the British Museum and the Louvre have long resisted returning pieces, citing their role as universal repositories of human heritage. But momentum is shifting. France has returned artifacts to Benin and Senegal. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles returned a Greek statue to Italy. Greece continues pressing for the Parthenon marbles.
Hawass's renewed call carries particular weight because the Grand Egyptian Museum is genuinely impressive—and because it's now impossible to argue that Egypt lacks the infrastructure to preserve its own history. Whether Berlin will listen is another question. Germany has shown little willingness to part with the Nefertiti bust, treating it as a centerpiece of its collection.
Still, Hawass has declared he won't visit Berlin to see the bust himself. "This bust should be in Egypt, and I will bring it to Egypt," he said. The campaign continues.
