Joan Howard boasts a collection of antiquities amassing upwards of $1 million
She dug for them in a series of Middle Eastern expeditions in the 1960s and 70s
Egyptian archaeologists are slamming her for illegally taking sacred artefacts

An incredible haul of ancient artefacts personally found by a 95-year-old 'Tomb raider' is being held illegally in Perth, Egyptian archaeologists have claimed.
Joan Howard boasts a collection of antiquities worth $1 million which she unearthed during a series of Middle Eastern expeditions in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it was legal to bring such artefacts back to Australia.
But after detailing her impressive collection in an interview with the West Australian, investigations have been launched into whether she's entitled to hold onto the precious relics under current laws.

Joan Howard (pictured) is accused of illegally possessing antiquities she collected during a series of Middle Eastern expeditions in the late 1960s and early 70s
Ms Howard, otherwise known as 'Indiana Joan', volunteered on archeological digs for around 11 years with British and American archaeologists in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel from around 1967 while her husband, Keith, was working with the United Nations.
Her diplomatic credentials meant she could travel freely throughout the region.

Her collection includes neolithic axe heads more than 40,000 years old, pottery and weapons from the Phoenicians and the Romans, coins and seals and jewellery from the time of the pharaohs, and a precious funerary mask from Egypt.

She said a favourite was a Roman dagger she found buried with the skeletal remains of its owner.

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