"Remnants of hair, linen bandages and resin used in the mummification of the 19th Dynasty King Ramesses II have been returned to Egypt after 30 years in France," Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni on Tuesday 10/4/2007 announced the return of the hair and other items at a press conference held at the Egyptian Museum, central Cairo.

He declared that the return of the items was a result of diplomatic efforts between Egypt and France which reflected the strong relationship between both countries.

It also reflects Egypt's strategy and devotion to the return of its heritage, which has been smuggled out of the country.

Farouk Hosni also highlighted the Supreme Council of Antiquities(SCA)'s efforts to track the selling of such objects on the internet until they are retuned to their homeland.

The retuned objects include: five samples of Ramesses II's hair along with a lock of his hair, ten samples of resin from the mummies of Ramesses II and his son Merneptah and linen bandages that were once used in the mummification of Ramesses II's body.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, the Secretary General of the SCA, explained that the story of these objects came to light last November when they were put up for sale on the internet for 200 euros by a French citizen who claimed that he inherited these relics from his father who was a member of the scientific team that examined the mummy of Ramesses II in France in 1976.

Samples of Merneptah mummy also came into the possession of the Frenchman as the French scientific mission also took samples of Merneptah mummy from the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, in 1976 when they asked to take his mummy to France for scientific research but the Egyptian authority rejected their request at the time.

During the analysis, the late French physicians took 41 samples from the mummy of Ramesses II and they also took samples from the mummy of Merneptah in 1976.

In collaboration with the Egyptian Embassy in Paris and the concerned French authority, Egypt succeeded in recovering the hair samples belonging to Ramesses II and Merneptah, resin and linen wrappings.

Early last week Egyptologist Ahmed Saleh, Director of the archaeological site at Mit Rahina, 30km south of the Giza Plateau, traveled to Paris to pick up these objects.

Dr Hawass announced that a scientific and archaeological committee has been formed in order to display the recovered objects beside the mummies of Ramesses II and Merneptah in a special exhibition in the Hall of the Royal Mummies at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

Panels describing the results of the treatment undertaken on the mummy in 1976 in France will be also put on display.

Ramesses II's mummy (1304-1237 BC) was discovered in AD 1881 in the Deir el-Bahari cache (DB 320) among a collection of royal mummies that had been relocated from their original tombs due to theft. Priests of the 20th Dynasty (1081-931BC) reburied them in this cache at Deir el-Bahari on Luxor's west bank.

These mummies are now exhibited at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

As for King Merneptah's mummy, it was found in a cache inside Amenhotep II's tomb (KV 35) in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor's west bank in AD 1898.