MIAMI: The Egyptian mummies, which were held by customs officials at Miami International Airport, have been finally released. Customs held three mummies due to more-stringent ivory import regulations that were introduced this year to protect endangered elephants.
Sources said that the mummies were meant to go on display on October 11, as part of the exhibition “Afterlife: Tombs and Treasures of Ancient Egypt,” which runs through April 18, 2015.
“The new measures required customs officials due to more-stringent ivory import regulations to conduct extensive checks on a selection of ivory artifacts which were also headed to the exhibition,” they added.
The museum staff had arranged for one of the three mummies to be examined at a local hospital to determine her cause of death.