Heads of ancient statues Apolon and Artemisa are back home

Recently, at the Acropolis in Athens a ceremony was organized to hand over two archeological objects, the statues of Apollonius and Artemisia, stolen during the unrest of 1997. The stolen items were restored to their rightful owner, the Albanian State thanks to the bilateral Agreement signed between Albania and Greece. The statue of Artemisia, in solid marble, belongs to pre-civil Illyrian culture. It dates back to the Second Century before Christ (Hellenic Period). It was discovered in 1958, on the Hill of Finiq, (southern Albania) and up until 1997 it was on permanent display at the Butrint Musuem. The stature of Apollonius, realized with the same technique, belongs to a later date, Second Century AD (Roman Period). The head of this statue is housed in the Butrint Museum. It was discovered by the Italian archaeologist, Ugolini, in the Nymphaeum of Butrint. The statues became the focus of a Court suit, the Greek State versus those individuals who illegally shipped the archaeological treasures out of Albania. Now they have been brought back. “This is only the beginning of a long process of the return of archeological treasures to Albania. In a few days time we will open negotiations with the Italian State for the return of the Head of Zeus,” said the Albanian Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Ylli Pango, shortly before the beginning of the ceremony. “This return of the statues of the Gods Apollonius and Artemisia is not a sporadic occurrence,” Pango continued. “This is an agreement, signed first of all with Minister Vulgarakis, in June 2007, and confirmed further by Minister Liapis. Meanwhile, during a visit we have planned to Italy, with the President of the Republic on 13 February, we will begin negotiations for the return of the head of Zeus, although it is claimed that it was purchased by an Italian collector. On the basis of international conventions, they are obliged, by law, to return these objects, and if it can be proven that they have been purchased, then the collector will be reimbursed. This is a component part of a major movement throughout the countries of the region as well as Greece and Italy, where the archeological objects of these countries are being returned to the rightful owners. Apart from this, here we have to do with a spirit of good understanding and cooperation. This work will definitely continue in the future. Wherever monuments have been identified as stolen, representatives of these States go to verify, identify and request their return on the basis of the respective Conventions. In this process, we are helped by the fact that the Cultural Assets Inventory Center has electronic lists of all such items, and whenever the need arises we draft the relevant application papers,” the Minister declared.