Especially after the last year's efforts that led to the successful repatriation of many historical artifacts smuggled overseas, Türkiye is said to continue its legal and diplomatic battle to bring more artifacts to the country of origin.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, when European countries exhibited a heightened interest in archaeology, artifacts in regions abundant with archaeological treasures were subject to rampant looting.

Whether at the hands of countries or smugglers, many historical artifacts from countries with a rich history, such as Egypt, which was in the Ottoman lands, and especially Anatolia were taken abroad.

Today, it is possible to see many artifacts smuggled from different parts of Anatolia or other locations around the world in places such as the British Museum in England, the Louvre Museum in France, the Pergamon Museum in Germany and the New York Metropolitan Museum in the U.S.

However, Türkiye continues to work within the legal and diplomatic relations framework with the relevant countries to identify and return the artifacts that were illegally removed from its territory.

The documents belonging to the Ottoman period, classified by the State Archives to prove that the stolen artifacts belong to these lands, shed light on research and are presented to the authorities of the interlocutor country.

According to Anadolu Agency (AA), the extradition processes are being carried out through the anti-smuggling department, established within the body of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums of the Ministry of Culture Tourism in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and security units.

Works returned in 2022

In 2022, when many important artifacts were restored and returned to Türkiye, the missing part of the Sidamara sarcophagus discovered 140 years ago in the ancient city of Sidamara in Karaman, the Eros head, was brought back from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and exhibited at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

Similarly, through efforts dating back to the 1970s, some of the works looted and taken to the U.S. from Anatolia, including the Lucius Verus statue, the Attis and Apollon statuettes, the Kusura idol, a dove terracotta plate and the four-piece columnar sarcophagus were brought back to Türkiye.

Again in the U.S., 28 works of art, 14 of which were in the antique art collection of billionaire Michael Steinhardt, were returned to Türkiye.

On the other hand, five gold coins seized in Istanbul and a stone artifact of an unknown origin bought by a Turkish collector from an auction abroad belonging to Iraq were returned to the country. Likewise, the bag with the 19th-century Kaaba key, a metal key and a lock found to belong to Egypt were also returned to the land of origin.

As a result, 1,121 works in 11 different groups were returned in 2022 and began to be exhibited in their respective lands.

At the beginning of this year, some 2,940 coins belonging to Türkiye seized while being smuggled into Bulgaria in the city of Burgas were returned to the Turkish authorities.

As one of the notable repatriations, 12 historical artifacts from Anatolia were seized in the U.S. and handed over to the officials of Türkiye's New York Consulate General by court order due to the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. They were returned to the country at the end of March.

The artifacts retrieved, including a Roman military diploma, a Neolithic mother goddess figurine, an Urartian terracotta vase, a Roman bust and the bronze statue of Septimus Severus from Burdur's ancient city of Bourbon, were preserved and are on display in Antalya Museum.

The historical burial stele, which was smuggled out of Zeugma and found in Italy last year, was handed to officials at the Turkish Embassy in Rome at the end of April as a result of the cooperation of the Italian gendarmerie, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

However, according to the authorities and the archive's data, many works and historical artifacts smuggled out of Türkiye are still on display in some of the world's most prominent museums.