Egypt is calling for the temporary return of the Rosetta Stone, a bust of Nefertiti and three other valuable Egyptian artifacts currently held in museums abroad.

This week, the country's Foreign Ministry is to send letters to the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris, two German museums and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts seeking temporary loans of the ancient artifacts.

Government officials announced the appeal on Sunday, saying the five cherished antiquities are being requested so they can be displayed at the upcoming openings of two new facilities: the Atum Museum in Minya in 2010 and the Egyptian Museum near Giza in 2011.

The Rosetta Stone, the massive rock carved with inscriptions that helped experts decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, is one of the major draws at the British Museum in London. A spokeswoman said on Sunday that the museum would consider a loan, but has not yet received a request.

Egypt had previously requested a loan of the 3,000-year-old limestone Nefertiti bust from Berlin's Altes Museum, but German cultural officials balked at the idea because of the statue's reportedly fragile state.

The other artifacts being requested are:

  • The Zodiac ceiling from the Dendera Temple, currently at the Louvre in Paris.
  • A statue of the Great Pyramid architect Hemiunu, currently at the Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim, Germany.
  • A statue of Ankhaf, who built the Chephren Pyramid, in the collection of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's leading archeological authority, has previously demanded the permanent return of all five objects and has campaigned for the repatriation of Egyptian antiquities.

With files from the Associated Press.