The United States has returned three Roman-era artifacts to Lebanon after recovering them as part of U.S. investigations into the illicit trafficking of cultural property, marking another step in Lebanese-American cooperation to protect heritage and antiquities.

The recovered artifacts are three fragments of lead sarcophagi dating to the second and third centuries AD. They are believed to have been looted during illegal excavations in Tyre or its surrounding area before being unlawfully removed from Lebanon. Their artistic and decorative features are associated with workshops for which ancient Tyre was known in the production of lead sarcophagi, helping establish their connection to Lebanon’s cultural heritage.

An official repatriation ceremony was held on September 2 at the Lebanese Consulate General in New York, where the artifacts were formally handed over to representatives of the Lebanese government in the presence of Lebanon’s Consul General in New York, Talal Daher, and officials from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

According to information released by the FBI, the artifacts had appeared in sales catalogs issued by Arte Primitivo, a New York-based antiquities dealer, before U.S. authorities pursued the case and ultimately recovered them.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut announced the return of the artifacts on its account on X, saying the achievement reflects the strong partnership between the United States and Lebanon in combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property. The Embassy also thanked FBI investigators, academic experts, and diplomats whose efforts helped make the repatriation possible.

Lebanese Minister of Culture Ghassan Salamé said the artistic, decorative, and technical characteristics of the fragments correspond to those associated with lead sarcophagus workshops in Tyre, which was an important center for such production in antiquity.

During the handover ceremony, Consul General Talal Daher stressed that the recovery of the artifacts demonstrates that Lebanon’s cultural heritage is part of the world’s shared heritage and that protecting it is a collective responsibility.

FBI New York official James Barnacle, meanwhile, emphasized that protecting cultural property is closely linked to preserving the identity and history of communities, while illicit antiquities trafficking deprives countries of their heritage and can support criminal networks.

The repatriation is part of ongoing cooperation between Lebanon and the United States to recover Lebanese antiquities that have been illegally removed from the country, as U.S. authorities continue efforts to combat cultural property trafficking and return artifacts to their countries of origin.

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