Ohio university to return ancient Turkish mosaics

A set of ancient mosaics that were part of an Ohio university’s art collection will be returned to Turkey.

The Blade reports that Bowling Green State University administrators were joined by Turkish representatives Tuesday during a news conference concerning the decision. Bowling Green bought the 12 mosaics from a New York gallery in 1965. They had been on display in the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

The university decided to return the pieces after faculty members questioned their origin. Officials had originally thought the pieces were from Antioch but researchers determined they probably came from the city of Zeugma. In the 1960s, looters stole the mosaics from ruins and smuggled them out of Turkey.

The mosaics will be exhibited at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep.

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Information from: The Blade, http://www.toledoblade.com/