In a significant gesture of international cooperation, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki has received a marble head from Roman times, repatriated by the University of Münster’s Archaeological Museum in Germany.
The artifact, a portrait of a bearded man, dates back to around 150 AD and is now on permanent display alongside similar works at the Thessaloniki museum.
During the handover ceremony, Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni emphasized the importance of repatriating Greek antiquities held abroad, highlighting this act as a matter of national significance. The University of Münster voluntarily returned the artifact upon discovering its unclear and suspicious provenance prior to 1989, the year it joined their collection.
Advanced physico-chemical analyses confirmed the marble’s origins from the quarries of Thassos, further validating its Greek roots. This is the second return from Münster, following the 2019 repatriation of a skyphos gifted to Spyros Louis, now housed in Ancient Olympia.
The ceremony was attended by various dignitaries, including officials from both Greece and Germany, celebrating the collaborative effort to preserve cultural heritage.