Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said that the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) had located the two paintings through a secret report filed by a foreign archaeologist.

    The paintings, Hosni said, were stolen from two tombs in a cemetery, which dates back to the 4th Dynasty, in the Pyramids area.

    In 1965, Dr Abdel Moneim Abu Bakr unearthed several tombs in the Giza plateau. At the time, no one reported the theft of the paintings to the Interpol.

    SCA Secretary-General, Dr Zahi Hawass said that the absence of any official records to prove that the paintings were stolen was an obstacle to having them returned.

    Dr. Hawass added that efforts for the return of the paintings have been made through proper legal channels. "If the two museums refuse to return the paintings, the SCA will suspend their excavation missions in Egypt," he warned.