ID :
214492
Wed, 11/09/2011 - 22:06
Auther :

Antalya Museum hopes to get back rest of Sion Treasure from U.S.

ANTALYA (A.A) - November 9, 2011 - Antalya Museum in southern Turkey is hoping to get back the rest of Sion Treasure from Dumbarton Oaks institute in Washington, U.S.. The museum's Director Mustafa Demirel told AA on Wednesday that Dumbarton Oaks had a part of the Sion Treasure, adding that Antalya Museum owned the main part of the treasure. Recently, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts returned the top half of Weary Heracles, Greek for Hercules, to Antalya Museum. Turkey said the top piece was stolen from an archaeological site in Turkey in 1980 and smuggled to the U.S. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew the 1,900-year-old statue back with him at the end of a trip to the U.S. in September. Sion Treasure was found by a villager by coincidence in Kumluca town of Antalya in 1963. The treasure, which was later smuggled abroad, was named from a niello inscription on an oblong polycandelon (multiple-lamp holder) mentioning "Holy Sion," possibly the church or the monastery for which the objects were made. The monastery of Holy Sion was near present-day Kumluca.  Museum's director Demirel said that Antalya Museum was located on an area of 30,000 square meters, and 60,000 artifacts were registered in the museum.

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