Türkiye repatriates 55 historical artifacts to Iran

By Yunus Hocaoglu

ERZURUM, Türkiye (AA) - Türkiye repatriated 55 historical artifacts identified as belonging to Iran on Tuesday.

The artifacts were taken to Erzurum province and sent to Iran with a ceremony at the Erzurum Archaeology Museum, as part of the work on the return of illegally smuggled artifacts to Türkiye.

Director General of Cultural Heritage and Museums Birol Incecikoz said Türkiye has been carrying out comprehensive work on artifact smuggling.

Incecikoz said Türkiye has successfully brought back 7,824 artifacts to the homeland in the last seven years.

“We have become one of the rule-making countries in the world in terms of returning illegally smuggled artifacts to our country. As a country, we claim that every cultural artifact is the jewel of the country it belongs to. It must be exhibited in the country where it belongs, it must belong to that land,” he said. “As a result of these policies, today we have come together to hand over to the Republic of Iran the artifacts that we have proven to belong to the Iranian side.”.

Incecikoz indicated that the items include a Sasanian sword, 42 coins, a bronze jug and 11 artifacts from the Bronze Age and Islamic eras.

“The return of cultural assets to the lands where they belong will be our motto in all the work we will do as a country from now on, especially in the fight against the smuggling of historical artifacts,” he added.

Consul General of Iran in Erzurum Mohammed Ebrahimi thanked Türkiye for returning the artifacts.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan