The historic tombstone that was stolen from the traditional metropolis of Zeugma and located in Italy final 12 months has been handed over to the Turkish Embassy in Rome by Italian authorities.
In the course of the ceremony on the Turkish Embassy in Rome, Capt. Emanuele Melelo and his workforce from the Venice Cultural Heritage Safety Unit of the Italian Carabinieri delivered the tombstone, which incorporates a feminine determine, to Türkiye’s Ambassador to Rome Ömer Gücük and deputy director basic of Cultural Property and Museums on the Ministry of Tradition and Tourism, Yahya Coşkun.
Ambassador Gücük thanked the Italian Carabinieri for his or her cooperation with Türkiye in the course of the return course of and congratulated them on their combat in opposition to antiquities smuggling.
He emphasised the significance of defending historic artifacts wherever they’re found.
The inscription on the tombstone, which displays the traits of the Antonine interval courting again to the mid-second century and incorporates a feminine determine, contains the expression “Farewell, Satornila, the spouse who liked her husband!”
This stele is claimed to contribute to the extraction of biographies and genealogies of settled people and communities in Zeugma from that interval.
It was seized by the Italian gendarmerie in March 2022 throughout a search of an individual’s house within the Florence province, who’s presently beneath investigation.
On account of the Italian authorities notifying Turkish authorities of the suspicion that the historic artifact could have come from Türkiye, in September 2022, Zeugma excavation head Kutalmış Görkay and ministry consultants carried out identification and verification research in Venice.
Misplaced treasures
“We’re pursuing all of the misplaced treasures of Anatolia. Because the Ministry of Tradition and Tourism, we’ve got introduced again greater than 20,000 works within the final 20 years. With this stele that we returned house on the finish of April this 12 months, the variety of antiquities we returned house reached 2,956. So, we’re very shut to three,000 antiquities within the first 4 months,” Gücük stated.
“That is really an individual from the traditional metropolis of Zeugma in Gaziantep. Returning house after 1,800 years, the stele unfurls the love of a husband who expressed his loyalty to her. Now, as he emphasised her loyalty to his spouse on that tombstone, we additionally guarantee his loyalty to his land,” Coşkun added.
Concerning the willpower that the stele was a stolen artifact from Zeugma, Coşkun elaborated: “Our colleagues got here right here earlier than us and carried out an examination in Rome. On account of the examination, each our colleagues and the Zeugma excavation head confirmed via scientific stories that the artifact couldn’t belong to some other place and may very well be of Zeugma origin, each by way of the stone’s form, effective craftsmanship and stylistic options. Within the mild of scientific stories, our Italian companions additionally determined to return the artifact to us, acknowledging its Zeugma origin.”
Coşkun said that they didn’t have clear info on how and when the artifact was taken overseas, and due to this fact, they relied on scientific analysis in its return.
“We have no idea the precise date. Due to this fact, we see the function of science in bringing again an artifact whose time and method of elimination we have no idea. We have been capable of show scientifically that the artifact is of Gaziantep Zeugma origin via its stylistic options, the kind of stone and the craftsmanship on it, and we achieved the consequence with the sunshine of science,” he added.
