France Returns 3,500 Ancient Artefacts To Ethiopia

Approximately 3,500 archeological artifacts that were transferred to France for investigation have now been returned to Ethiopia thanks to a French initiative. On Saturday, November 30, three prehistoric tools were ceremoniously transferred to the National Museum in Addis Ababa to start the handover.

At the event, Ethiopia’s Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa was given a stone cutter and two ancient stone axes, called bifaces, by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

“These tools are samples of nearly 3,500 artefacts from the excavations that were carried out on the Melka Kunture site,” Barrot said. Melka Kunture is a significant cluster of prehistoric sites located south of Addis Ababa, excavated under the direction of a late French researcher.

France and Ethiopia have a longstanding bilateral agreement to engage on archaeology and palaeontology, which was highlighted during the transfer ceremony.

Laurent Serrano, cultural advisor at the French embassy in Addis Ababa, explained that this transfer is not considered reparation. “This is a handover, not a restitution, in that these objects have never been part of French public collections,” he explained to AFP.

Serrano added that the artifacts, which date back between one and two million years, were unearthed after decades of excavation near Ethiopia’s capital. The entire collection is currently being housed at the French embassy in Addis Abeba and will be transferred to the Ethiopian Heritage Directorate on Tuesday, December 3.