An ancient mosaic depicting autumn that is believed to have been illegally removed from Lebanon in 1987. Photo courtesy of the New York District Attorney's Office.
The Lebanese Culture Ministry, represented by the Directorate General of Antiquities (DGA), received three archaeological artifacts from the Swiss embassy in Lebanon that had been illegally removed from the country before being seized by the competent authorities in Switzerland, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Wednesday.
These items include a blue-tinted glass bottle adorned with embossed motifs, a small statue of the goddess Aphrodite dating back to the 2nd-3rd century BC, and a small bronze statuette dating back to the second century BC.
This restitution was made possible through the Ministry of Culture, with Ghassan Salameh being reappointed as its head 22 years after his previous term, along with the DGA and the Lebanese embassy in Switzerland.
A long struggle against illicit trafficking
The Culture Ministry and the DGA reaffirmed their determination to continue the fight against the illicit trafficking of antiquities and to work for the restitution of as many archaeological items located outside of Lebanon as possible, NNA reported.
In February 2018, five archaeological items stolen in 1981 from the Byblos citadel's storerooms, which were located in the United States and Germany, were repatriated to Lebanon. In September 2021, nine mosaics, a Roman head, and a bronze were recovered from the collection of Georges Lotfi.
