A 2000-year old Egyptian sphinx has been recovered by Italian Finance police near Rome after being stolen from an Etruscan cemetery.

On Thursday police released video of the ancient artefact which dates back to the Ptolemaic Era, between the fourth and the first century B.C.

A police statement said "a decorative ceramic object from an excavation as well as many photos of the Egyptian sculpture" were found after a random check of an industrial vehicle.

A search of the driver's home then uncovered the sphinx hidden in a greenhouse, already packed in a case, according to the police.

It is believed the sphinx was about to be smuggled out of the country after being stolen from the Montem Rossulum necropolis 60 miles north of Rome.