The United States returned smuggled artifacts to Libya
On Thursday, March 31, 2022, the United States returned a shipment of smuggled ancient artifacts to Libya, and in Tripoli, Libya, a greek sculpture head from the ancient Libyan city of Cyrene was returned by the United States and exhibited.
Libya is an oil-rich Mediterranean country that is struggling to preserve its ancient heritage against the backdrop of years of war, turmoil and instability. The returned items include two sculptures from the ancient capital Cyrene, which date back to the 4th century BC.
The U.S. Embassy in Libya said a statement said one of the heads, titled "Woman in a Veil," had previously fallen into the hands of a private collector who had also collected other illegal artifacts. Another Greek bust has been in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 1998. At a reception ceremony in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, Libyan heritage officials displayed the two artifacts.
Libya is home to many ancient Greek and Roman buildings, and despite the looting of archaeological sites for decades, museums in the capital Tripoli and other museums across the country are also rich in ancient artifacts.
The U.S. Embassy credited the Manhattan district attorneys and homeland security agencies to staff, and Libyan antiquities authorities thanked U.S. law enforcement for returning the artifacts and said they looked forward to more cooperation in the future.
The U.S. Embassy's claim: "Although these artifacts were illegally brought into the United States by smugglers, through legal efforts, they have been successfully returned to their countries of origin." ”
Libya has been in chaos for years after the U.S.-led NATO group overthrew and killed Gaddafi in 2011, and the antagonism between the East-West governments has left people suffering from war.
Large-scale wars have only stopped in the past year, and despite the efforts of the United Nations, Libya has not yet been united under the leadership of a regime.
In the 4th century BC, the Greeks established the Cyrene settlement near the modern town of Shahat, which was later incorporated into the Roman Empire. The United Nations inscribed Cyrene on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, and since 2016, Cyrene has been listed as a particularly endangered place due to the effects of war.