US returns $5 million worth of stolen antiquities to Syria

The US has returned $5 million worth of stolen antiquities to Syria

US authorities announced on September 23 that they had returned 36 stolen ancient antiquities to Syria. Among them is a stone illegally smuggled out while ISIS terrorists were destroying ancient monuments in Palmyra.

It is reported that these items, with a total value of more than $5 million, were confiscated from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and several collectors. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that preserving cultural heritage transcends any concept of borders and nations.

According to reports, the limestone, weighing more than 450 kilograms, was smuggled out of the city of Palmyra, which is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Later, between 2015 and 2017, ISIS members blew up and destroyed a large part of this ancient city.

This carved stone sculpture depicts a reclining man surrounded by a woman and three children.

Syria's Chargé d'Affaires in Washington, Mohammad Qanatri, said this step would strengthen relations between the two countries in protecting cultural heritage.

"Thanks to the cooperation between Syria and the US, and the efforts of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, a piece of Syrian history is finally returning home," he said.

Four of the returned antiquities were seized from American collector Michael Steinhardt. In 2021, under an agreement with the US government, he handed over about 180 exhibits stolen from around the world, with a total value of $70 million.

The 13 items confiscated from the Metropolitan Museum are among the 402 antiquities worth $98.7 million seized by the prosecutor's office from this institution since 2017.

The extremist group ISIS has been designated as a "terrorist organization" by a number of countries and international organizations.