A nationwide hunt is underway after a priceless gold bracelet belonging to an ancient pharaoh disappeared from a museum in Cairo, Egyptian authorities have said.

The 3,000-year-old bracelet was being restored in a laboratory when it went missing from the Egyptian Museum, the country’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said.

A photo of the item has been sent to airports, seaports and land border crossings across Egypt to help prevent it from being smuggled out of the country, the ministry said in a statement shared with NBC News on Wednesday. It is “adorned with spherical lapis lazuli beads, belonging to King Amenemope from the Third Intermediate Period,” the ministry said.

Known for its deep blue hue and golden flecks, lapis lazuli was highly prized in ancient Egypt for its association

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