The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was illegally taken abroad from the Ancient City of Boubon in Burdur, was returned to Turkey after 65 years. The statue, which was ceremoniously handed over to Turkey from the Cleveland Museum of Art in the United States of America (USA), will be brought in July.

According to the written statement made by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; It was revealed as a result of long studies that the rare bronze work, which has been in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, USA since the 1980s and depicts Marcus Aurelius as a 'philosopher', belongs to Turkey. A handover ceremony was held at the museum for the work, which was determined to have been unearthed during illegal excavations in the Ancient City of Boubon in Burdur in the 1960s and smuggled abroad by illegal means, with the diplomatic, legal and scientific studies of the Ministry. Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Gökhan Yazgı also attended the ceremony.

65 YEARS OF LONGING HAS ENDED

Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Gökhan Yazgı made a statement on his social media account and said, "Marcus Aurelius is returning to his homeland. The unique bronze statue, which was smuggled abroad from the Ancient City of Boubon in the 1960s and depicts the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius with his philosopher identity, was officially returned to Turkey at the ceremony held at the Cleveland Museum of Art on April 14, 2025. After approximately 65 years of scientific, legal and diplomatic efforts, the statue of Marcus Aurelius is finally returning to its homeland of Anatolia. The work in question will be presented to visitors in a special exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art for 3 months before it is brought to Turkey. In July, it will come to life again in our country within its own cultural context. Thus, the long journey of Marcus Aurelius will come to an end in his homeland," he said.

The statue, which will be exhibited in a special exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art to emphasize the cooperation between Turkish and American institutions, is expected to be brought to Turkey in July 2025.

SMUGGLED FROM BOUBON

The statue of Marcus Aurelius was unearthed as a result of illegal excavations carried out in the Ancient City of Boubon in Burdur in the 1960s, and then smuggled out of Turkey by illegal means. The work, which was included in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection from the 1980s, was subject to decades of follow-up by Turkey. Works of Boubon origin were brought to the agenda of the international public with the academic studies carried out under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Jale İnan, while the cooperation established by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the New York Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the US Homeland Security Investigations Unit (HSI) in 2021 changed the course of the process. Thanks to this cooperation, many Boubon-originated works, including statues belonging to Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus and Emperor Caracalla, were brought to Turkey.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE PRESENTED

It was scientifically revealed that the statue belonged to the Sebasteion structure in the Ancient City of Boubon with archaeological findings, academic publications, witness statements and documents obtained from the ministry archives. In light of these findings, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and HSI seized the statue in 2023. In 2024, joint studies were carried out by Turkish and American experts to address the concerns of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The fact that the silicone foot molds of the statue perfectly matched the pedestals in Boubon, and that the analyzes carried out at the Curt Engelhorn Archaeometry Center in Germany confirmed that the work remained underground in Boubon for a long time, reinforced the decision to return it. The Cleveland Museum of Art accepted the return of the work in the face of the comprehensive scientific data presented by Turkey. The return of the statue of Marcus Aurelius to Turkey stood out as an exemplary model of international cooperation for the protection of cultural heritage.