After an official report, a block engraved with the Star of David has been removed from the Ptolemaic temple of the god Osiris Nesmeti on Elephantine Island in Aswan.

Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department, told Ahram Online that the engraved block was discovered 15 years ago by the German-Swiss archaeological mission on Elephantine Island that has been working there for 40 years.

Affifi said the mission did not carve the Star of David on the block, as was claimed by some newspaper reports. The mission inserted the block within its rebuilding work of the temple.

"The block is now removed to the site's archaeological gallery, in order to study its date of carving, and to inspect its authenticity," Afifi said.

The block is of plain limestone engraved with two drawings of the Star of David, each 10 centimetres wide.