A team of German and Egyptian archaeologists discovered two six-pointed stars that resemble Stars of David in a dig in the island of Elephantine in the Aswan district.
The Egyptian Antiquities Authority issued an urgent decree to remove the entire surrounding set of stone blocks to investigate it further.
The German archaeologists at first refused to remove the stones, wanting to keep them in their original location, but they relented when the Egyptian authorities threatened to end the dig altogether which was meant to restore an ancient temple on the site.
The stars are only 10 centimeters tall, but the Egyptian authorities insisted on removing the entire section that was 3 meters high and 10 meters wide.
Israeli sources report that the Egyptians are worried that Jews will use this as an excuse to claim Egyptian lands as their own.
The temple that is being excavated is from the Ptolemaic dynasty, from between 305 and 30 BCE.
Jews had lived in Elephantine since the 6th century BCE, and many more arrived during the Hellenistic period, although six pointed stars were not associated with Judaism at that time to the best of my knowledge.
It is not at all clear that these symbols have anything to do with the Jewish community there at the time. But the idea of a Jewish presence in the area, even though proven from some famous papyri found on the island, is so inflammatory to the Egyptians that they would rather not risk having any tourists see the same symbol that is on the Israel flag when they visit.
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