After traveling for 60 years, a Roman emperor’s head returns to Turkey

The bronze statue head of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, which was taken from the Boubon Ancient City in Burdur, Turkey approximately 60 years ago, was returned to Turkey from Denmark's NY Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum.

"The Septimius Severus statue, which was smuggled from our country in two pieces, will be reunited as a single piece," Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey stated, according to Euronews Turkish.

Prof. Dr. Jale İnan's research and published scientific studies in the 1970s formed a fundamental source in determining the origin of the statue head and contributed to its return to Turkey.

Museum Director Gertrud Hvidberg-Hansen expressed the institution's support for the return. "The return of this artifact obtained through illegal excavations to its homeland is an important step in terms of museum principles and ethical values," stated the Danish Museum Director Gertrud Hvidberg-Hansen.

The Boubon Ancient City, located in Burdur, is known as an important center that bears traces of magnificent structures from the Roman Empire period. It houses several significant artifacts, many of which were looted in the mid-20th century. Artifacts smuggled from Boubon Ancient City were sent not only to Europe but also to the United States.

In 1970, the statue head was sold by art dealer Robert Hecht Jr. to the Glyptotek Museum in Denmark. The body of the statue was taken to the United States but was brought back years later. In 1979, the statue head was reunited with its body at the Glyptotek Museum.

According to Turkish media, between 2002 and 2024, a total of 12,213 artifacts have been brought back to Turkey from abroad.

Habertürk, Haberler, CNN Turkish, T24, and Anadolu covered the return of the statue, among other websites. 

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq