Ethiopia has received the first batch of thousands of its archaeological artefacts that have been held by France since the 1980s.
France said the artefacts were held for study, but their return reflects a growing momentum in Africa for the repatriation of the continent’s artworks and cultural objects being held in European capitals.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot presented two prehistoric stone axes, called bifaces, and a stone cutter to Ethiopia’s Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa, during a visit to the national museum in Addis Ababa.
The tools are “samples of nearly 3,500 artifacts from the excavations that were carried out on the Melka Kunture site”, a cluster of prehistoric sites south of the capital that were excavated under the direction of a late French researcher, Barrot said.
The artefacts, currently stored at the French embassy in Addis Ababa, will be delivered in their entirety to the Ethiopian Heritage Directorate on Tuesday.
Peoplesmind
