Syria recovers 36 looted antiquities worth $5M from US

Syrian charge d'affaires Mohammad Nasser Qanatri and UN Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi joined US officials in New York this week to recover 36 looted antiquities valued at more than $5 million. The collection includes a massive funerary relief from the ancient city of Palmyra and 14 rare mosaics stolen from a Roman villa, according to the Syrian news agency SANA. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, and US Special Envoy to Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack attended the ceremony, where Bragg described the investigation as "incredibly complicated, multi-faceted."

Ancient artifacts

The Palmyrene funerary relief dates to the late second century and depicts a reclining man surrounded by a woman and three children carved into limestone weighing more than 1,000 pounds. The piece was carefully removed from a burial chamber wall to avoid damage and smuggled from the site during ISIS's systematic looting of Syrian archaeological sites, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. The collection also includes the "Telete and Eros" mosaic from the third century BC and three female "Syro-Hittite" figurines dating to the second millennium BC that passed through convicted dealer Edward Merrin to collector Michael Steinhardt.

Investigation details

Four of the returned Syrian pieces were among 180 objects worth $70 million seized from the Steinhardt collection following a years-long criminal investigation spanning several countries. Bragg said his Antiquities Trafficking Unit seized 31 antiquities from the Middle East and North Africa as part of the operation, noting the return would not have been possible without "close partnerships that spanned the globe." "Repatriation ceremonies are a powerful reminder that preserving cultural heritage transcends any border or nationality," he said in a statement.

Diplomatic context

"Through Syrian-American cooperation, a part of Syria's history is finally returning home thanks to the efforts of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office," Qanatri said. He added that the achievement demonstrates how mutual respect and a shared commitment to protecting cultural heritage can build lasting bridges between the two countries. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2199 in 2015 to combat trafficking of Syrian antiquities, while Washington imposed emergency import restrictions on Syrian cultural property in 2016 to curb looting that has plagued sites such as Palmyra.