After 65 years, a Roman-era statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius has been returned to Turkey, marking the end of decades-long investigation characterised by tenacious detective work and international collaboration.
Professor Dr Jale Inan, the first female archaeologist in Turkey, laid the legal foundation for the statue’s return after it was stolen in the 1960s from the ancient city of Boubon in southwest Anatolia.
Zeynep Boz, the chief of the Department for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property, spearheaded the effort to resolve the case decades later.
“This was one of the hardest cases we’ve ever dealt with,” Boz told Turkish news outlet Hurriyet in an interview.
Boz credited the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for its role in the repatriation.
Partnership with the US
The collaboration between Turkey and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office began in 2017 during the recovery of another statue.
It evolved to a partnership with the United States Homeland Security.
The discovery was made when researchers matched Marcus Aurelius’s foot, which was kept in New York, with his original pedestal in Boubon using 3D scanning.
“There was a Cinderella moment. The Manhattan DA’s team was measuring the foot of a statue in New York while we were simultaneously measuring the pedestal in Boubon.
“The fit was millimetre-perfect,” said Boz.
“When the silicone mold of Marcus’s foot fit perfectly on the original pedestal, that was the moment all efforts were validated,” Boz recalled.
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Final piece of evidence
The late journalist Ozgen Acar provided one important piece of evidence: a handwritten confession by a looter that described the incident, according to Boz.
Beyond heritage, Boz said that these recoveries hinder criminal networks that use antiques to finance terrorism or launder money.
“These objects are not just about ownership; they’re often used in money laundering or to finance terrorism.”
“Repatriating them means not only restoring heritage, but also disrupting global criminal networks,” said Boz.
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Adam Peaker 
Newsjustnews writers 
Carmela Calling