Historical story

The US returned the stolen artifacts

On March 31, 9 artifacts returned to Libya:stone heads, urns and pottery. Previously, they were illegally excavated and taken to the US.

Each war, be it domestic or following an invasion by another country, becomes an opportunity for plunder - including cultural and art goods. The situation was no different in the case of the civil war in Libya which happened during the so-called Arab Spring of Nations , after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, although theft had also occurred earlier. Much of the antiques in the museum there have been illegally sold and smuggled into other countries.

Treasures returned

On March 31, some of them were returned to Libya. 9 artifacts have returned to the country:stone heads, urns and pottery . The country that returned them is the United States. All the artefacts had previously been illegally excavated and transported to the USA. There, they were identified by a team of archaeologists working with Manhattan's District Attorney Alvin Bragg. They are now located in Tripoli , in the museum located in the palace of Idris (former king of Libya).

The donated artifacts went to Tripoli. They are now in a museum located in the palace of Idris (former king of Libya).

Of these 9 items returned, two are of particular interest. And valuable because together are worth over $ 500,000 . Both were looted from Cyrene and went a long way before they ended up in the US. The first is the head of a woman with a veil worth about half a million dollars. It is estimated to be from 350 BC . It was stolen from the tombstone. It was taken to Egypt, and finally in 1998 it was ... at the exhibition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The second item is a bust of a bearded man worth $ 30,000. It too was stolen from the grave. It arrived in New York with a "change" in Geneva. It is estimated that the bust was created between AD 100 and 300 .

Veiled Lady Head

It remains to cheer for the further return of looted antiques and hope that those involved in their smuggling will be punished in an exemplary manner.

Sources

  1. D.A. Bragg Returns Two Antiquities Valued at Over $ 500,000 to the People of Libya, www.manhattanda.org, (access:04/04/2022).
  2. Looted Libyan artifacts returned by U.S. , www.reuters.com (access:04/04/2022).
  3. Murad, US returns smuggled ancient artifacts to Libya , www.abcnews.go.com (access:04/04/2022).