Metal Detecting Laws in Egypt

Egypt keeps the hunt for antiquities in state hands: the Supreme Council of Antiquities alone handles searching and excavating on any land, whoever owns it, and the only search licence it can grant goes to specialized scientific bodies and universities.

• the Council alone is in charge of antiquities, on or under the ground and in Egypt's inland and territorial waters, including any antiquity found by chance, and of searching and excavating (البحث والتنقيب) on land whoever owns it (art. 5)
• the Council's board may license specialized scientific bodies and universities, Egyptian or foreign, to search for or excavate antiquities at named sites for a set period, with a special licence that cannot be passed on, and only after checking their scientific, technical and financial capacity and practical archaeological experience; this applies even on land that is not archaeological (art. 32)
• an antiquity is, in general, any property or object produced by the civilizations on Egypt's land up to 100 years back that has archaeological or artistic value or historical importance, and the executive regulations count those 100 years from when the law took effect, not from today (law art. 1; regulations art. 2); the Prime Minister can also declare younger property an antiquity (law art. 2)
• digging to obtain antiquities without a licence carries 3 to 7 years in prison and a fine of EGP 500,000 to 1,000,000, and the dig site is held until the Council excavates it at the offender's expense (art. 42)
• the same article sets السجن المشدد (aggravated imprisonment) for "لكل من قام بالحفر خلسة أو بإخفاء الأثر أو جزء منه بقصد التهريب" (anyone who dug clandestinely or hid the antiquity or part of it with intent to smuggle); the text doesn't make clear whether the smuggling intent also governs the clandestine digging. That paragraph orders confiscation of the antiquity and of the devices, tools, machines and vehicles used (art. 42)
• the law does not mention metal detectors, and no source read addresses detecting for modern lost items

There's no beach exception. The Council's control of discovering and excavating antiquities reaches Egypt's inland and territorial waters, and the licence rule for searching isn't limited to any kind of land.

• the Council discovers antiquities above ground and excavates those below ground and in Egypt's inland or territorial waters (art. 32)
• the national rule: only the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the specialized scientific bodies and universities it licenses, may search for antiquities (arts. 5, 32)
• digging to obtain antiquities without a licence carries 3 to 7 years in prison and a fine of EGP 500,000 to 1,000,000, and the dig site is held until the Council excavates it at the offender's expense (art. 42)
• no beach-specific detecting rule was found in the sources read
• the law is written about searching for heritage; it doesn't address hunting for modern lost items

Archaeological sites and lands are locked down tight: moving soil, sand or stones, or any work that changes them, needs the Council's licence and supervision, and even being at an archaeological site or museum without permission is an offence.

• no building licences are granted on archaeological sites or lands, and others may not build, dig canals, lay roads or farm there, on public-utility antiquities land, or within a monument's protected zone (حرم الأثر) or approved beautification lines (art. 20)
• the licence rule for planting, removing soil, sand or stones, or other works also covers adjacent land up to 3 km beyond the sites in uninhabited areas, or the distance the Council sets elsewhere (art. 20)
• being at an archaeological site or museum without permission, or climbing an antiquity without a licence, carries at least one month in prison and a fine of up to EGP 100,000, or one of the two (art. 45 bis (1))
• the national rule: only the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the specialized scientific bodies and universities it licenses, may search for antiquities (arts. 5, 32)
• the law is written about searching for heritage; it doesn't address hunting for modern lost items

National parks and nature reserves follow the national rule: searching for antiquities is for the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the scientific bodies and universities it licenses.

• the national rule: only the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the specialized scientific bodies and universities it licenses, may search for antiquities (arts. 5, 32)
• digging to obtain antiquities without a licence carries 3 to 7 years in prison and a fine of EGP 500,000 to 1,000,000, and the dig site is held until the Council excavates it at the offender's expense (art. 42)
• no park- or reserve-specific detecting rule was found in the sources read
• the law is written about searching for heritage; it doesn't address hunting for modern lost items

State forests follow the national rule: searching for antiquities is for the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the scientific bodies and universities it licenses, and digging for antiquities without a licence is a crime.

• the national rule: only the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the specialized scientific bodies and universities it licenses, may search for antiquities (arts. 5, 32)
• digging to obtain antiquities without a licence carries 3 to 7 years in prison and a fine of EGP 500,000 to 1,000,000, and the dig site is held until the Council excavates it at the offender's expense (art. 42)
• no forest-specific detecting rule was found in the sources read
• the law is written about searching for heritage; it doesn't address hunting for modern lost items

Your own land is no loophole. The Council's control covers searching and excavating on land whoever owns it, and the licence rule applies even on land that isn't archaeological.

• the Council alone handles searching and excavating (البحث والتنقيب) on land whoever owns it (art. 5)
• the national rule: only the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the specialized scientific bodies and universities it licenses, may search for antiquities (arts. 5, 32)
• digging to obtain antiquities without a licence carries 3 to 7 years in prison and a fine of EGP 500,000 to 1,000,000, and the dig site is held until the Council excavates it at the offender's expense (art. 42)
• an unregistered immovable antiquity found on private land is State property; within three months the Council may remove it, expropriate the land, or leave it in place and register it (art. 23)
• the law is written about searching for heritage; it doesn't address hunting for modern lost items