SANAA (AFP) - Yemeni authorities are to lodge a formal protest with a European government after antiquities were found in a diplomat's baggage at Sanaa International Airport, the official Saba news agency said.

The works of art, which date back to the pre-Islamic period, were confiscated as the envoy prepared to board a Frankfurt-bound flight, the news agency said, without specifying the diplomat's nationality.

"Because of the European diplomat's diplomatic immunity, a report will be sent to the foreign ministry so that the necessary measures can be taken," the airport's security director Colonel Abdel Wahab al-Kinai told the news agency.

Yemen was a centre of ancient civilization before the Islamic era, including the historic land of Sheba mentioned in the Bible, whose queen married King Solomon, according to Christian tradition.

A number of Yemeni cities are classified as world heritage sites by UNESCO, including the old city of Sanaa and the ancient cities of the eastern region of Hadramawt.