Greece recovers hundreds of looted Neolithic to Byzantine artefacts from art thief

Greece has announced the recovery of numerous stolen artifacts, spanning from the Neolithic period to the Byzantine era, after a lengthy legal battle against a well-known British antiquities dealer. Among the treasures is a bronze statue of Alexander the Great from the second century.

The pursuit of repatriating the collection, consisting of 351 objects, began in 2006 when Greek authorities initiated an investigation into Robin Symes’ company, both within Greece and abroad. Greece’s Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, revealed this development in a statement on Friday.

The retrieval of these artifacts occurred several years after Italian and Swiss authorities recovered a cache of archaeological objects stolen from Italy and stored by Symes. He was a prominent figure in the illegal antiquities trade and had connections with Italian tomb raiders. Although Greece’s culture ministry did not explicitly state whether the recent recovery was linked to the Italian haul, the circumstances suggest a possible connection.

The repatriated collection boasts several remarkable pieces, including a white stone statuette from the Neolithic period dating back to the fourth millennium BC. Other notable finds consist of an Early Cycladic figurine from 3200 to 2700 BC, a damaged marble statue of an Archaic kore from 550-500 BC, and a marble head from the same period representing either a kore or a sphinx.

Greece has been actively engaged in reclaiming looted artifacts from museums and private collections worldwide. In March, three fragments from Athens’ Parthenon temple, which had been kept by the Vatican for many years, were returned to Greece in a gesture of friendship initiated by Pope Francis. Fragments of the monument are scattered across various prestigious museums globally.

Furthermore, reports emerged earlier this year of advanced discussions between the Greek government and the British Museum regarding the return of the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles. These ancient sculptures were taken from the Parthenon temple in Athens during the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin and have since been held by the British Museum.