Marcus Aurelius Statue Returns to Türkiye After Six Decades Abroad
July 21, 2025 — Ankara
A bronze statue believed to depict Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius has been returned to Türkiye, more than 60 years after it was removed from the ancient site of Boubon in Burdur province and taken overseas.
The nearly two-meter-tall sculpture had been housed at the Cleveland Museum of Art since the 1980s. Turkish authorities have long argued that the statue was looted from the Sebasteion, a Roman-era sanctuary in Boubon, and smuggled out of the country in the 1960s.
After an extensive joint investigation with U.S. authorities, supported by scientific testing and legal documentation, the museum agreed to relinquish the statue earlier this year and dropped its legal resistance.
“This is a moment of great cultural significance,” said Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy during the statue’s unveiling in Ankara. “We were right, we stood firm, and we succeeded. Marcus Aurelius has returned to his homeland.”
Scientific Proof Supports Repatriation
The case was strengthened through meticulous forensic work, including a key comparison with a statue of Valerianus—also from Boubon—preserved at the Burdur Museum. Soil samples were extracted from both statues under expert supervision, despite difficulties in retrieving material from inside the Marcus Aurelius sculpture.
Zeynep Boz, head of the ministry’s unit on cultural heritage trafficking, said,
“Our team went to extraordinary lengths. It was the last chance to gather evidence, and we collected the soil with our bare hands.”
Lab tests confirmed the statues contained identical soil compositions, linking them to the same archaeological site. This finding, combined with eyewitness accounts from 1967 and measurements matching the statue’s base at the excavation site, provided solid proof of the statue’s Anatolian origins.
Legal Action and Repatriation
The Cleveland Museum initially opposed the statue’s return in court but eventually withdrew its lawsuit following the scientific findings. U.S. agencies, including the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations, supported Türkiye’s efforts and played a key role in securing the statue’s repatriation.
The recovery is regarded as one of Türkiye’s most significant victories in the fight against the illegal trafficking of antiquities. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has successfully brought back several other statues from the Boubon site in recent years, including figures believed to represent emperors Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus, and Caracalla.
The Marcus Aurelius statue will soon be showcased in a new exhibition in Ankara, with further details expected to be announced soon.
