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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter.

This past summer, I went to Berlin and got to visit the Neues Museum. This museum is famous mainly for its Egyptian exhibits – the main attraction everyone would be here for, though, was the famous Nefertiti bust. 

“Are you ready to visit your grandma?” my mom asked me. 

Undoubtedly, “Grandma” Nefertiti would be heavily protected within her display for everyone to see. When we walked through the front doors of the museum, I did not see Nefertiti up and center like I expected her to be. It actually took me a flight of stairs and a couple of turns to finally find Nefertiti in her own room. 

This was an unusual experience because we could only stand yards away from Nefertiti and take photos of her from there, but never up close in the actual room. We could only get side angles, so we didn’t bother trying to take a photo of her face. Coming from an Egyptian family, I felt so close to her, but so far from her at the same time. Unfortunately, this feeling is not new.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a major Egyptian artifact in a museum outside of Egypt. I saw the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum almost a decade ago. The only difference was that the Rosetta Stone was mixed in with other artifacts in the same room, and you could take photos of it in its glass container. The Ramesses the Great’s bust also lives here, but I do not remember seeing it. 

Outside of those three examples, many other (minor) Egyptian artifacts have been displayed in museums around the world, especially in Europe. In cities like Vienna, Copenhagen, and Athens (the latter is a bit understandable), you would never guess Egyptian artifacts exist in their museums. It completes the museum experience, really.

I would like to highlight the British Museum in particular. During the United Kingdom’s colonial period, the British took back pieces of various cultures with them. For example, the Rosetta Stone was taken by the British (which they took from the French, who took it from the Egyptians) in the early 19th century. Ever since then, it has been locked away in the museum, thousands of miles away from its natural homeland. Meanwhile, German archaeologists discovered Nefertiti and brought her to the Neues Museum during the 20th century. 

Of the British Museum’s 8 million artifacts, almost 120,000 are from Egypt alone. 625,371 are authentically from England. This article from the British Museum website showcases the top 14 things to see. I noticed thatlmost all of them are not from England/the UK; these are artifacts from other places with rich history. Obviously, the UK has its own history, too. 

Fortunately, not all of Egypt’s artifacts are abroad. King Tutankhamun’s mask, for example, was discovered by the British in the 1920s, but had never left the country and is currently in the Grand Egyptian Museum. I had the pleasure of going to this museum a few summers ago. It felt like an authentic experience because I saw all the artifacts in their place of origin: Egypt! 

I counted around 24 mummies all in its special exhibit in the basement, which has lasted many dynasties. This museum also displays Egyptian artifacts from its different eras: Pharaonic, Coptic, and Islamic, to name a few. There are roughly 100,000 unique Egyptian artifacts displayed here. I also got to travel to smaller museums housing more artifacts from these places. 

I am biased. I want all Egyptian artifacts returned to Egypt where they rightfully belong. Egypt deserves its recognition of these artifacts – no other country should be claiming them. Imagine a baker making a pie, then imagine people taking pieces of this pie back home with them, around the world, because it tasted really good. The baker has the right to retain creation credit because that pie was made with their own two hands. People can like the pie, but they never made it to begin with. 

In the meantime, Egypt has many more artifacts to fawn over. That’s what attracts people from around the world: stepping back in time to visit Egypt’s pharaonic days. The UK could be proud to have the Rosetta Stone and Ramesses the Great. Germany could be proud to have Nefertiti. But one thing remains – these artifacts are outside of their natural habitat, and they will never feel truly at home anywhere except for Egypt. 

Jazzy Tung

CU Boulder '27

Jazzy Tung is a writer for Her Campus at University of Colorado Boulder (HCCU), and is a part of its social media team. Currently, she is currently a sophomore at the University of Colorado Boulder, who is majoring in journalism and minoring in international relations. Jazzy has always loved being involved with school media: in middle and high school, she was on the yearbook team. In her junior year of high school, she attended the National Student Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. (American University) for communication studies. That only fueled her love for journalism even more! She was also the president of her high school's Creative Writing Club. Outside of school, Jazzy has a variety of interests. For example, she enjoys playing board and card games like UNO, spending time with friends and family, and surfing the internet for any interesting topic. Jazzy also has a large collection of notebooks in her room, most of which are from previous school years, that she saves in case she wants to write anything and everything later on. One of Jazzy's favorite hobbies, though, is stationery! She loves collecting pens, highlighters, sticky notes, and stickers.