Egypt to make formal request to Germany for return of 3,400 year-old bust of fabled Queen Nefertiti

Egyptian state minister for antiquities Zahi Hawass declared on Tuesday that Egypt will make a formal request to Germany for the return of the 3,400 year-old bust of fabled Queen Nefertiti.

Hawass said a letter would be sent to Germany to demand the return of the Nefertiti bust, nearly a century after it was uncovered on the banks of the Nile. "A formal request will be sent through the Egyptian foreign ministry next week, attached with all the evidence that shows the 3,400-year-old statue was smuggled out of the country illegally," he noted.

Hawass had already sent a request to Germany in January in his capacity as head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, one day before the launch of anti-regime protests that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

The German government has denied repeated Egyptian requests to have the bust back, insisting there is nothing illegal about its acquisition.

Nefertiti, renowned as one of history's great beauties, was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton, remembered for having converted his kingdom to monotheism with the worship of one sun god, Aton.