A 35,000-year-old axe has been returned to Egypt by the Leuven University in Belgium. The axe was handed over to the Egyptian Embassy in Brussels as soon as archaeological studies on it were completed.

The axe was originally found at the Nazlet Khater archaeological site in Sohag, Egypt,  by the Leuven Mission. The mission took the axe, as well as a skeleton that had been found with it to Belgium for studies. The skeleton was returned in August 2015, but the studies on the axe were not completed until recently.

Shaaban Abdel Gawad, supervisor general of Antiquities Repatriation Department, said the axe is carved in stone and dates back to the Old Archaic era, about 35,000 years ago. He suggested the skeleton and the axe be displayed at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Fustat.