Holy follicles! Frenchman arrested over bid to sell pharaoh hair

French police have arrested a man who tried to sell on the Internet strands of hair from the head of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, a law court official has said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, asked for between 2,000-2,500 euros ($2,639-$3,299) for each of the various hair samples as well as for tiny pieces of resin and embalmed cloth taken from the pharaoh's mummy.

In background notes posted on the www.vivastreet.fr website, the seller said he had obtained the relics from his father who had worked in a French laboratory entrusted with analysing and restoring the body of Ramses in 1976-77.