Thousands of stolen artifacts repatriated to Türkiye over 4 decades
FOR decades, the efforts of the teams combating cultural heritage trafficking under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums have finally borne fruit. A staggering 25,525 historical artifacts and cultural assets, which had been smuggled abroad, have been successfully repatriated to Türkiye.
Anatolia, resembling an open-air museum with remnants of numerous civilizations, has witnessed the illicit smuggling of many of its treasures overseas. The teams dedicated to combating cultural heritage trafficking within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have persistently tracked down these historical relics abroad and worked to reintegrate them into Türkiye’s inventory.
According to data from the Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums on “Returned Works from Abroad,” 25,524 historical artifacts and cultural assets have been brought back to Türkiye after being smuggled abroad.
GERMANY LEADS
Following 150 separate operations conducted in 17 countries since 1980, the repatriation of smuggled artifacts has seen significant success. Germany tops the list of countries from which the highest number of historical artifacts have been returned, followed by Croatia, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, the United States and Serbia. Specifically, 8,670 artifacts were repatriated from Germany, 4,147 from Croatia, 3,742 from the U.K., 3,061 from Bulgaria, 2,599 from the U.S. and 1,865 from Serbia.
17 ARTIFACTS REPATRIATED
Within the scope of the Ministry’s ongoing efforts, 17 artifacts have been repatriated this year alone. Among them, two artifacts each were returned from France and the U.K., 11 from Italy, and one each from Switzerland and Germany. Notably, this year saw the repatriation of a bronze coin dating back to the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justin I (518-527) and another bronze coin from the era of Nasreddin Artuk-Aslan (1200-1239), both seized from an individual residing in France.
DISCOVERY THROUGH AUCTIONS
A terracotta vase from the Roman era, which had been removed from Türkiye 30 years ago and recently surfaced in an auction house in England, was returned following diligent efforts. Similarly, the marble torso of a Kore statue was repatriated after being noticed in an auction in the U.K.
BRONZE EMPEROR STATUE RETURNS
A monumental bronze statue of an emperor from the ancient city of Boubon was brought back to Antalya after the buyer, who acquired it at an auction in 2011, learned about its illicit history and accepted its return to Türkiye.
Furthermore, 11 terracotta artifacts seized during an investigation by the Florence Prosecutor’s Office were proven to have originated from Turkey and were subsequently handed over. Additionally, the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Graubünden, in coordination with the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), voluntarily returned a marble inscription fragment believed to be from the ancient city of Miletus to Türkiye.
The inscription, measuring 13 centimeters (5.12 inches) in length, 10 centimeters in width and 3 centimeters in depth, is made of marble and bears a partially preserved ancient Greek inscription consisting of five lines.