Stolen artifacts from Turkey found in Germany

One of the artifacts stolen from the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum in 2009 has been found at an auction in Germany. 

The Culture and Tourism Ministry reported theft of the Roman-era color marble relief, which is valued at around 32,000 euros in the auction, to Interpol.

Following the illegal excavations there, the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum initiated excavations in İzmit’s Çukurbağ neighborhood, estimated to be the center of the ancient city of Nicomedia. 

Excavations in the field unearthed a number of Roman-era sculptures and reliefs, which were then included in the museum collection and kept in storage. But the inventory taken after two years revealed that one Roman-era bust and one color relief panel were not in the museum storage. 

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