A STATUE of an Egyptian princess which cost a Greater Manchester council almost £½m is at the centre of a Scotland Yard investigation after claims that it is a fake.
The 52cm-high "Amarna Princess" - said to be the sister of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun - was bought by Bolton council for £440,000 nearly three years ago for Bolton Museum and Art Gallery's Egyptology collection.
It has now been taken off display as the police probe continues.
Heh. Well maybe he did. . Archaeologist stunned by discovery
"Are you sure you didn't carve it yesterday?" That was a reporter's first question when Koichiro Shibata showed off a jaguar relief he had excavated to the local press in Peru.
The ancient Andean civilization relief is extremely well preserved, so much so that the local reporter voiced doubts about its authenticity and Shibata himself was shocked at the pristine condition it was in.
Shibata, 33, began excavating Peru's Huaca Partida ruins in November 2004 as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science researcher.