Türkiye repatriates ancient Marcus Aurelius statue

A bronze statue of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was illegally removed from Türkiye in the 1960s, has been returned to the country after more than half a century.

The Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism noted that the statue had been in the US for decades, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

"It was a long war. We were right, we were determined, we were patient, and we succeeded. We carefully gathered the necessary evidence and brought back the 'philosopher emperor' Marcus Aurelius," Mehmet Nuri Ersoy wrote in X.

The statue was returned after a multi-year investigation that included scientific analysis, archival research and eyewitness testimony, Anadolu reports.

Ersoy called the repatriation a "historic achievement" made possible by the joint efforts of diplomacy, law and science.

"Whether at home or abroad, we will continue to resolutely protect all of our looted cultural heritage until the end," he announced. He added that the statue would soon be presented to the public at an exhibition in the capital, Ankara.

The statue, believed to date from the second or third century AD, was smuggled out of Türkiye after illegal excavations in the Golhisar district of the southwestern province of Burdur. It later entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in the US state of Ohio.

Considered one of the most important bronze artifacts to have survived in Anatolia, the statue is unique in its depiction of Marcus Aurelius as a philosopher - a depiction that has particular significance in the history of Roman and ancient Anatolian art.

The export of antiquities from Turkey is prohibited by law and violators face severe penalties, it reports.