The unique Bronze Age clay cylinder seal of Assini has been reunited with its birthplace in Argolis, Greece after 100 years of being in the Uppsala Museum.

The fragment was handed over to the Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, by the Ambassador of Sweden to Greece, Johan Borgstam, during a special ceremony.

It was found during an archaeological dig initiated by the then Crown Prince of Sweden, Gustaf Adolf, and later King Gustaf VI Adolf. The Minister of Culture and Sports of Greece, Lina Mendoni, and the Swedish government have granted permission for a seal stone fragment to be given to the Archaeological Museum of Nafplion.

The fragment was in the possession of the Uppsala University Museum in Sweden and revealed a very old phase of Greek civilization, 4,000 BC. The Greek Archaeological Service cooperates with the Swedish Archaeological Institute and the generosity of the Swedish people has allowed the two parts of a small monument to be united in the original, in the land that created them, in Greece.

This gesture is the visualization of a national goal, the definitive return and unification and reunification at the Acropolis Museum of the Parthenon Sculptures. The reunification of two fragments of the clay seal cylinder was made possible by discussions between the Gustavianum Museum, Uppsala University and the Archaeological Museum of Nafplion.

The fragment was received by the Minister of Culture and Sports, the Superintendent of Antiquities of Argos, and Dr. Jenny Wallensten, Director of the Swedish Archaeological Institute in Athens. This is an important day for the Swedish Institute in Athens as it celebrates the centenary of Swedish archaeological field research in Assini.