Ancient Lydian necklace returns to Türkiye from US museum

MANİSA

A 2,700-year-old necklace, recovered from the Bintepeler archaeological site in Manisa and smuggled from Türkiye to the United States, has been returned.

The ancient artifact considered a significant piece of Lydian art had been illegally taken decades ago and held in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in Massachusetts.

Measuring about 20 centimeters, the necklace features pomegranate-shaped beads made of gold and carnelian stones, characteristics of Lydian craftsmanship and is believed to date back to the sixth or fifth century B.C.

Negotiations between the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts resulted in the successful return of the artifact.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which acquired the artifact in 1982, contacted the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Turkish Consulate in Boston in 2023 regarding the artifact for which it had no provenance information other than its Anatolian origin.

As a result of scientific investigations and archival research conducted by the ministry, it was determined that the necklace had been illegally excavated and smuggled abroad in the 1970s from the Bintepeler Necropolis Area, where hundreds of Lydian burial mounds, or tumuli, were discovered.

The well-preserved necklace bore striking similarities to other artifacts registered in the inventory of the Manisa Museum Directorate that were recovered from the site.

In light of this information, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts decided to return the necklace to Türkiye.

The latest recovery is part of Türkiye’s ongoing efforts to reclaim stolen cultural heritage.

“In 2024, we saw the return of 20 historical artifacts to the land of their birth. We are now bringing back one more historical artifact of Anatolia to Türkiye, raising the number to 21,” Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated.

The artifact will soon be exhibited at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in the capital Ankara.