15 Looted Ancient Greek Artifacts, Some Nearly 5,000 Years Old, Returned Home From a US Museum
Fifteen looted Greek artifacts spanning roughly 5,000 years, including bronze helmets and a marble bust, have been returned to Greece after being traced to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Fifteen looted ancient Greek artifacts, some nearly 5,000 years old, have been returned to Greece after being traced to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, according to Good News Network.
Bronze helmets, a marble bust, and millennia of history
The collection includes two bronze helmets, three bronze belly guards, a terracotta jug, a marble figurine, bronze and gold bracelets, and a marble bust, among other pieces. Together they span roughly 5,000 years, from around 2,700 BCE to 1,700 BCE, with the Roman-era marble bust dating much later. The bronze helmets and belly guards alone are valued at over $2 million.
Traced through false provenance and smuggling routes
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office identified the pieces as looted and seized them; investigators say they had been smuggled abroad and laundered through false provenance records and museum donations. The handover to Greek authorities took place on September 21, 2026.
"Now returning home"
Greece's Minister of Culture said plainly that the artifacts "were illegally trafficked abroad and are now returning home." Several pieces will be reunited with related finds from the same original excavation at the archaeological museum of Iraklio, on Crete.
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