A fresco depicting Hercules and originally from Herculaneum, a city destroyed along with Pompeii by the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius, was back in Italy Monday, along with 59 other ancient pieces illegally trafficked to the United States. Italy on Monday celebrated the return of 60 looted archaeological artefacts worth more than $20 million, many of which had been on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art before their illicit origin was discovered. Some of the antiquities worth an estimated $19 million are seen after being returned to Italy by New York City, in Rome, Italy, January 23 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Among the more precious pieces Italian and U.S. officials displayed to journalists in Rome is a B.C. kylix, or shallow two-handled drinking vessel, some 2,6...
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United States returns to Cambodia 30 antiquities looted from historic sites
The United States will return to Cambodia 30 looted antiquities, including bronze and stone statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities carved more than 1,000 years ago, U.S. officials said on Monday. The Southeast Asian country's archaeological sites -including Koh Ker, a capital of the ancient Khmer empire - suffered widespread looting in civil conflicts between the 1960s and 1990s. Cambodia's government has since sought to repatriate stolen antiquities sold on the international market. Lee Satterfield, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department delivers remarks as he stands with seized items during an announcement of the repatriation and return to Cambodia of 30 Cambodian antiquities sold to U.S. collectors and instituti...
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