UK man buys Egyptian artifact for GBP3, US man claims desert land on Egypt border

An Ancient Egyptian carving tool estimated to be 4,500 years old was recently sold to a man in the United Kingdom for a mere GBP3, while elsewhere, an American father has laid claim to desert territory between the Egypt-Sudan border in the name of his daughter.

In the town of Amble, Northumberland, an ambulance driver named Martin Jackson purchased an Ancient Egyptian artifact at a car boot sale for a historically low price of GBP3 (around LE37 or US$5) after bargaining the price down from GBP6.

Martin was reportedly not aware of the history or value of the old wooden bell-shaped tool. But upon returning home, the ambulance driver unraveled a piece of electric tape covering the object and found a finely engraved silver band on the artifact’s handle.

The item turned out to be an Ancient Egyptian maul — a hammer or mallet-like tool used to carve tombs and temples.

According to the BBC, Jackson had the artifact inspected and analyzed by specialists at the Natural History Museum in London. On Sunday, the specialists discerned that the carving tool dates back to around 2,500 BCE and is believed to hail from Saqqara.

Chronicle Live, a UK-based publication, reported that the artifact was brought to Ireland around the year 1905, purportedly by a decorated British officer.

The specialists also estimate that today, the object could be priced at up to GBP4,000.

Jackson is reportedly seeking to auction-off his valuable find to pay for a trip to Egypt, and specifically Saqqara, so as to discover more about the history and circumstances surrounding the ancient maul.

In other strange news, an American citizen from the state of Virginia has proclaimed himself monarch of what he declared to be the Kingdom of North Sudan in the Bir Tawwil territory along the Egypt-Sudan border.

The American adventurer is now reportedly seeking diplomatic recognition for his monarchy from Egypt, Sudan and the African Union, though thus far his efforts have proved entirely unsuccessful.

Jeremiah Heaton reportedly declared himself king of this territory so that his daughter Emily could realize her seventh birthday wish of being a real-life princess.

Heaton received clearance from Egyptian authorities to travel to Bir Tawwil, where he planted a flag designed by his three children for his self-proclaimed kingdom, whose name was selected by his children.

“I founded the nation in love for my daughter,” claimed Heaton. This new “nation," a desolate, rocky desert area measuring approximately 2,060 km sq, has no settled population, no capital and practically no resources.

According to the US-based newspaper the Washington Post, Heaton sought to establish a kingdom for his daughter on a parcel of land that is not officially claimed by any sovereign state. After doing some research on the Latin word terra nullius (land claimed by no one), Heaton came across Bir Tawwil, which is situated just west of the Halaiyeb and Shalateen Triangle along the eastern Egypt-Sudan border. 

The Washington Post quoted Heaton as declaring, “I wanted to show my kids I will literally go to the ends of the earth to make their wishes and dreams come true.”

While some disputes linger between Egypt and Sudan regarding the territory of the Halaiyeb Triangle, Bir Tawwil is not officially claimed by either country.

This lack of a claim on Bir Tawwil dates back to the UK territorial agreements of 1899 and 1902 that demarcated the borders of both Egypt and Sudan.

The Post also reported that Princess Emily aspires to establish an agriculture production center in the Kingdom of North Sudan to feed local children.

However, the arid, isolated, rocky and sandy nature of this land renders agricultural production nearly impossible. This territory is not inhabited by any settled population, although Bedouins and herders do travel through it.