The interdiction was undertaken on Saturday in collaboration with the customs department and police at the port, located in the South Sinai governorate.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), explained that the archaeological committee assigned to examine the seized artefacts has proved their authenticity.

He pointed out that the objects were found inside a lorry containing fruits and were set to leave the country through the port.

The coins are dated back to the Ptolemaic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. They are made of bronze and silver and decorated with texts and faces of Roman emperors and queens while the Islamic coins are made of gold and decorated with verses of the holy Quran. A collection of 20 coin weights were also among the seized items.

Waziri said that all the objects are now in custody until the completion of the investigations, in line with the Antiquities Protection Law 117/1983.