The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is in Turkey after 65 years.

19.07.2025 13:23

The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was smuggled abroad as a result of illegal excavations in the ancient city of Boubon in the Gölhisar district of Burdur in the 1960s, has been returned to Turkey after 65 years.

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The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is in Turkey after 65 years. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated, "We collected the necessary evidence by scraping with our nails and brought the 'Philosopher Emperor' Marcus Aurelius back to the land he belongs to."

The statue of Marcus Aurelius, dated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, was taken abroad as a result of illegal excavations in the Boubon Ancient City in Gölhisar district of Burdur in the 1960s. Over the years, the artifact changed hands and entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, USA. The work holds a special place in the history of ancient art due to its depiction of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius as a philosopher, and it was brought to the attention of the scientific community for the first time through studies led by Prof. Dr. Jale İnan.

SEIZURE DECISION

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, along with the New York Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, initiated a joint study in 2021. As a result of this study, statues and busts belonging to Roman emperors such as Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus, and Caracalla, originating from Boubon, were returned to Turkey. Scientific data collected over the years, academic research, archival documents, and witness statements revealed that the statue of Marcus Aurelius belonged to the Sebasteion structure in Boubon Ancient City. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) found Turkey's request for return justified, particularly due to the information provided by witnesses regarding the illegal excavation in 1967, the exact match of the negative marks on the pedestal with the foot measurements of the statue, and the discovery of a similar sandal example in the excavations of the Kybra Ancient City, and decided to seize the statue at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

MUSEUM FILED A LAWSUIT

The Cleveland Museum of Art filed a lawsuit in October 2023, appealing the seizure decision of the New York Supreme Court and contesting the association of the statue with Boubon. However, analyses conducted at the Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry laboratories in Germany definitively revealed that the statue had been buried in Boubon soil for many years. In May 2024, under the supervision of ministry experts, a silicone foot mold of the statue was taken, and it was documented that it matched perfectly with the pedestals in Boubon Ancient City.

SOIL ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED

During the return process of the statue, the Cleveland Museum of Art requested a soil analysis to eliminate scientific doubts regarding the origin of the artifact. The relationship between a small hole in the base of the statue and the lead protrusion on the foot of the statue was investigated. For this purpose, a reference soil sample was needed to prove that the statue originated from Boubon Ancient City. The Valerianus statue, seized during a gendarmerie operation in 1967 and still preserved in Burdur Museum, was chosen as a reference. By comparing the soil inside this statue with samples taken from the Marcus Aurelius statue, it was investigated whether both artifacts had been preserved in the same environment. Laboratory tests scientifically proved that both statues had the same soil composition and were extracted from Boubon Ancient City. Following this, the Cleveland Museum of Art withdrew from the lawsuit and announced that it accepted the return decision.

IT WAS BROUGHT TO TURKEY

The statue of Marcus Aurelius was brought to Turkey on a Turkish Airlines flight. The return of the statue has also gone down in history as one of the most significant turning points in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's fight against the smuggling of historical artifacts.

"WE SCRAPED WITH OUR NAILS"

Zeynep Boz, the head of the Anti-Smuggling Department, stated that the soil analysis work was a very challenging process, saying, "The soil inside the statue was solidified. That’s why we could not get a soil sample from the statue. Our restorers and conservators made great efforts for this. However, it was not coming, and it was such a moment that it was our last chance. To eliminate all concerns and negative comments, we needed to be able to say that this statue is indeed of Anatolian origin, yes, of Burdur origin. At that point, the job was left to our instincts, and we scraped with our nails to take the soil we would reference from inside the statue, and at the point where the international expert said no sample was coming, we, as ministry employees, had the chance to take these samples, perhaps a little more confidently. Of course, under the supervision of our international expert. We completed our sampling process, which was done with acid-free papers, very carefully," she said.

MINISTER ERSOY: A HISTORICAL SUCCESS

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy described this important return as a 'historical success' in a statement on his social media account. In his post, Ersoy said, "It was a long-term struggle. We were right, we were determined, we were patient, and we won. We collected the necessary evidence by scraping with our nails and brought the 'Philosopher Emperor' Marcus Aurelius back to the land he belongs to. The statue of Marcus Aurelius, which was taken from Boubon Ancient City in the 1960s, returned to Turkey after 65 years. This unique artifact, exhibited in the USA, was returned to our country through scientific analyses, archival documents, and witness statements. This process we conducted with the joint power of diplomacy, law, and science with the New York Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations is not just a return; it is a historical success."

"The return of Marcus Aurelius to our country is a concrete result of our years-long quest for rights. Whether at home or abroad, we will continue to resolutely stand by all our cultural heritage that has been taken from us," he said.

"TO BE EXHIBITED IN ANKARA"

Minister Ersoy stated that the statue will be exhibited in Ankara, saying, "We will soon bring the Philosopher Emperor together with the people of Ankara in a surprise exhibition. I would like to thank our Burdur Museum, our Boubon excavation team, and especially the Directorate of Anti-Smuggling of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums for their contributions to this process, which started under the leadership of the late Prof. Dr. Jale İnan, an important figure in Turkish archaeology. Additionally, I express my gratitude to our flag carrier Turkish Airlines for their valuable support in bringing the Marcus Aurelius statue to our country," he stated.