The head of French diplomacy hands over Ethiopian archaeological treasures to Addis Ababa

Currently stored at the French embassy in the Ethiopian capital, they must be handed over in their entirety next Tuesday to the Ethiopian heritage department.

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs initiated on Saturday the handover of some 3,500 archaeological objects belonging to Ethiopia which had been in France since the 1980s for study, a new illustration of the cooperation of the two countries in matters of archeology and of paleontology.

Jean-Noël Barrot symbolically presented two bifaces and a stone cutter to the Ethiopian Minister of Tourism Selamawit Kassa, at the end of a visit to the national museum where the head of French diplomacy was able to see the famous skeleton of Lucy discovered in Ethiopia just fifty years ago.

“I had the great pleasure of officially presenting to you two magnificent bifaces and a stone cutter as samples of the nearly 3,500 objects resulting from the excavations which were carried out on the Melka Kunture site under the direction of Professor (Jean) Chavaillon“, declared the French minister.”These objects, which by mutual agreement had been sent to France for study, now find their place in Ethiopian paleontological collections“, added the minister, visiting Ethiopia as part of an African tour.

“This is a delivery and not a restitution to the extent that the objects have never been included in French public collections.“, specified Laurent Serrano, cultural advisor at the French embassy in Addis Ababa. “These artifacts, which date back between one and two million years, were found during excavations carried out over several decades at a site near the Ethiopian capital.e,” he added.

Alongside this handover, Jean-Noël Barrot announced the launch of a new project, called “Sustainable Heritage in Ethiopia”, an extension of the “Sustainable Lalibela” project, in favor of the development of centuries-old sites. drawing on the experience acquired by local communities, political and religious authorities, as well as scientific research.

For this new project, France will contribute seven million euros after the three million for Lalibela, an emblematic city in northern Ethiopia which owes its fame to its churches dug into the rock. For two years, it has also contributed 25 million euros to the renovation of the National Palace, transformed into a national museum.