The 13th panel of the internationally renowned “Gypsy Girl” mosaic has been returned to Türkiye from the United States and formally handed over to the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on July 14.
Speaking at the handover ceremony held at the museum, Ersoy said the return marked another important milestone in Türkiye’s efforts to recover cultural artifacts that were illegally taken abroad.
He described Zeugma, located on the banks of the Euphrates River, as one of the Roman world’s most important cities where trade, art and culture flourished at the crossroads of East and West.
The “Gypsy Girl” mosaic, discovered at the ancient city of Zeugma, has become one of the country’s best-known cultural symbols. However, many sections of the floor mosaic were smuggled out of Türkiye following illegal excavations carried out in the 1960s.
Ersoy recalled that 12 panels belonging to the same composition were repatriated in 2018 and placed on display at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum after years of scientific, legal and diplomatic efforts.
“Today we are delighted to add the 13th panel, dating to the second and third centuries A.D., to the collection of the Zeugma Mosaic Museum,” he said.
According to Ersoy, the panel was identified as belonging to the same monumental composition through research conducted by Dr. Camila Felag of France’s Grenoble Alpes University and scientific evaluations by Professor Kutalmış Görkay, head of the Zeugma excavations.
After receiving the findings, the ministry launched an investigation and discovered that the panel had changed hands through a sale. Turkish authorities initially sought information from U.S. authorities about the artifact’s whereabouts but were informed that details about the buyer could not be obtained at the time.
The ministry continued monitoring international art auctions, and officials later identified the panel after it was once again offered for sale. Based on earlier scientific assessments and previous requests, Türkiye immediately renewed its claim for repatriation.
The process was successfully concluded with the cooperation of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, leading to the panel’s return.
Ersoy said the case once again demonstrated that combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property requires close coordination between scientific research, legal procedures and international cooperation.
He emphasized that every archaeological artifact carries its own story and belongs within its original historical context.
“The addition of this panel to the collection of the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the world’s largest mosaic museums, is a significant achievement. It will enable the Zeugma mosaics to be studied in a more comprehensive manner and contribute to the reassessment of the composition within its original context,” Ersoy said.
“As missing pieces return to where they belong, we are not merely completing a mosaic. We are repairing a damaged historical memory, filling gaps in history and reuniting a cultural asset with the heritage to which it belongs. Every repatriation reflects our determination to protect our history, our collective memory and our cultural sovereignty,” he added.
The minister also highlighted growing cooperation between Türkiye and the United States in preventing the illicit trade of antiquities.
He noted that the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 aimed at preventing the illegal import of cultural property removed from Türkiye into the United States. The agreement, which operates in five-year terms, has now been extended for another five years.
“The extension is a concrete indication that cooperation between the two countries continues to grow stronger on the basis of mutual trust, continuity and determination,” Ersoy said.
Türkiye has intensified efforts in recent years to identify, track and recover artifacts taken abroad through illegal excavations and trafficking networks.
According to Ersoy, the country has secured the return of 13,454 cultural artifacts since 2002, including 9,139 over the past eight years alone.
He said the government’s long-term objective is not only to recover looted artifacts but also to strengthen preventive measures against cultural property trafficking by increasing public awareness, improving institutional cooperation and enhancing enforcement efforts against illegal excavations.
“We will continue working with the same determination until every cultural artifact illegally removed from these lands is returned to its rightful home,” he said.
