Statue of Roman Emperor returned to Türkiye

ANKARA

The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection in the United States, is set to be returned.

Scientific and legal studies have confirmed that the statue was illegally excavated from the ancient city of Boubon in Burdur and smuggled abroad.

According to a statement from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the statue, which dates back to the second or third century A.D., is one of the lost treasures of Anatolian history. It was taken out of the country through illegal excavations in the 1960s and changed hands multiple times before becoming part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection in Ohio. The statue was among the artifacts that Türkiye had been pursuing for over 65 years. The artifacts were first brought to public attention through the research led by archaeologist Professor Jale İnan.

Following years of work by the ministry and the collection of scientific data in previous years, it was definitively proven that the Marcus Aurelius statue belonged to the Sebasteion structure in Boubon. Archival documents, academic research and excavation work at the ancient site clearly established its original location. The testimonies of eyewitnesses who were knowledgeable about the extensive illegal excavations in the area further supported the scientific findings. Based on this evidence, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) determined that Türkiye’s request for the statue’s return was justified and decided to seize the artifact at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

In October 2023, the Cleveland Museum of Art challenged the seizure decision in court, arguing that the statue's origins were not definitively proven. The Culture and Tourism Ministry responded positively to the museum’s request for scientific analysis. Under the supervision of ministry experts, in May 2024, a silicone footprint mold of the statue was taken at the museum and found to match exactly with the bronze statue bases in Boubon.

Archaeometry expert Professor Ernst Pernicka, authorized by the Cleveland Museum, along with conservation specialists from the ministry, collected samples from the Marcus Aurelius statue, the Valerianus statue in Burdur Museum and other Boubon-origin artifacts for lead isotope, stone and soil analysis. Additionally, tests conducted at the Curt Engelhorn Archaeometry Center laboratory in Germany definitively proved that the statue had been buried in Boubon for many years. Following these scientific findings, the Cleveland Museum of Art agreed to return the Marcus Aurelius statue to Türkiye, and this decision was officially communicated to Türkiye by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Thanks to the cooperation between the Ministry, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York and the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, which began in 2021, many artifacts originating from Boubon, including statues of Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus and Emperor Caracalla, have been returned to their homeland.

With the return of the Marcus Aurelius statue, Türkiye has taken an important step in protecting its cultural heritage and achieved a major success in the international fight against the smuggling of historical artifacts. The return of the Marcus Aurelius statue has been recorded as one of the most significant milestones in this struggle.

The statue is considered one of the rarest bronze artifacts from antiquity and stands out for depicting Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius as a philosopher. Originally located in the Sebasteion, an important religious structure of the Roman period, the artifact will be reunited with the land of its origin later this year.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy shared a statement on his social media account regarding the matter, saying, “We continue to protect our cultural heritage. Through international collaborations, we are reclaiming our stolen artifacts one by one. I would like to thank all our institutions, experts, and officials who contributed to this process. History is most beautiful in its rightful place, and we will continue to protect it.”