• MAIN PAGE
  • LATEST NEWS
    • Lost Cities
    • Archaeology's Greatest Finds
    • Underwater Discoveries
    • Greatest Inventions
    • Studies
    • Blog
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • HISTORY
  • RELIGIONS
    • Africa
    • Anatolia
    • Arabian Peninsula
    • Balkan Region
    • China - East Asia
    • Europe
    • Eurasian Steppe
    • Levant
    • Mesopotamia
    • Oceania - SE Asia
    • Pre-Columbian Civilizations of America
    • Iranian Plateau - Central Asia
    • Indus Valley - South Asia
    • Japan
    • The Archaeologist Editor Group
    • Scientific Studies
    • Aegean Prehistory
    • Historical Period
    • Byzantine Middle Ages
    • Predynastic Period
    • Dynastic Period
    • Greco-Roman Egypt
  • Rome
  • PALEONTOLOGY
  • About us
Menu

The Archaeologist

  • MAIN PAGE
  • LATEST NEWS
  • DISCOVERIES
    • Lost Cities
    • Archaeology's Greatest Finds
    • Underwater Discoveries
    • Greatest Inventions
    • Studies
    • Blog
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • HISTORY
  • RELIGIONS
  • World Civilizations
    • Africa
    • Anatolia
    • Arabian Peninsula
    • Balkan Region
    • China - East Asia
    • Europe
    • Eurasian Steppe
    • Levant
    • Mesopotamia
    • Oceania - SE Asia
    • Pre-Columbian Civilizations of America
    • Iranian Plateau - Central Asia
    • Indus Valley - South Asia
    • Japan
    • The Archaeologist Editor Group
    • Scientific Studies
  • GREECE
    • Aegean Prehistory
    • Historical Period
    • Byzantine Middle Ages
  • Egypt
    • Predynastic Period
    • Dynastic Period
    • Greco-Roman Egypt
  • Rome
  • PALEONTOLOGY
  • About us

Smuggled historical artifacts in US returned to Turkey

March 26, 2022

28 Turkish cultural artifacts from the Neolithic Period to the Roman Era confiscated in the US were handed to Turkiye's Consulate General in New York. Two goddess figurines of Ephesus and Hacılar origin, a deer-shaped rhyton from the Hellenistic Period, numerous coins, and other interesting assets will continue to shed light on hidden stories of the past in Anatolia.

The seized historical artifacts, including 16 which were in the antique art collection of US billionaire Michael Steinhardt, are returning to Turkiye.

During the handover ceremony at the Turkevi Center, historical artifacts were received by the Turkish Consul General in New York Reyhan Ozgur from the US Department of Homeland Security and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Ozgur said the process of returning the 28 artifacts smuggled from Turkiye was completed with the work of the country's Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Turkiye has recovered more than 8,000 historical artifacts that were smuggled in the last 20 years, he said, and added that the artifacts would be exhibited in Turkish museums.

Among recovered items are 12 coins, a 6,000-year-old Kilia idol, a mother goddess idol from the neolithic period and a Stag’s Head Rhyton.

Turkiye announced last month that it recovered 3,480 cultural assets in 2021 thanks to the efforts of the country's anti-smuggling authorities.

The process for recovering artifacts involves multiple state agencies, including law enforcement and judicial authorities, as well as diplomatic efforts and court cases in the countries where the artifacts are found.

Taking cultural assets abroad without official permission has been illegal since the Republic of Turkiye’s founding and even earlier during the Ottoman Empire.

Unlicensed excavation is illegal, as is failing to report any uncovered artifacts to authorities, under current legislation.

In Anatolia
← The 'Marree Man': The Mystery behind a Modern Giant Geoglyph FigureWhat is the Strange Temple-like Structure of Mt. Donon in France? →
Featured
image_2025-05-22_011859988.png
May 21, 2025
Could the Ancient Greeks Sail a Trireme to Egypt Without Stopping?
May 21, 2025
Read More →
May 21, 2025
image_2025-05-22_011657510.png
May 21, 2025
Parthenon Sculptures: Controversy Over ‘Loan’ – Permanent Return Still Not on the Table
May 21, 2025
Read More →
May 21, 2025
image_2025-05-22_011316730.png
May 21, 2025
Significant Discovery: Wreck of a Merchant Ship Found 168 Years After Its Deadly Sinking
May 21, 2025
Read More →
May 21, 2025
image_2025-05-22_011123197.png
May 21, 2025
Against the Barbarians: The Fiercest Enemies of the Greeks
May 21, 2025
Read More →
May 21, 2025
image_2025-05-22_010940211.png
May 21, 2025
He Hid Pericles on Athena’s Shield — and Paid with His Life
May 21, 2025
Read More →
May 21, 2025
image_2025-05-22_010703730.png
May 21, 2025
The Eleusinian Mysteries and the Demeter-Kore Relief: A Window into Ancient Sacred Rituals | Ancientist
May 21, 2025
Read More →
May 21, 2025
read more

Powered by The archaeologist