US Authorities Return 36 Stolen Antiquities Worth Over $5 Million to Syria

US authorities have returned 36 looted antiquities worth more than $5 million to Syria, including ancient mosaics and a monumental stone relief taken from the historic city of Palmyra.

The artefacts were formally handed back during a ceremony in New York on September 23, 2026, following investigations by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit.

The collection includes historically important objects recovered from museums, private collections and alleged antiquities-trafficking networks.

36 Antiquities Returned to Syria

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described the repatriation as historic and said the investigation involved cooperation between authorities and organisations across several countries.

Among the most significant objects returned are a monumental funerary relief from Palmyra and 14 mosaics looted from a Roman villa in Syria.

The Palmyran relief dates from the late second century CE and depicts a reclining man surrounded by a woman and three children.

According to prosecutors, the relief was trafficked from Palmyra during a period when ISIS organised and facilitated systematic looting of archaeological sites in Syria.

Ancient Mosaic Among Major Pieces

Another highlight is the Telete and Eros Mosaic, a large section of mosaic flooring dating to the third century BCE.

The artwork depicts the mythological wedding of Telete and Eros, accompanied by Aphrodite and the Three Graces, and was constructed using hundreds of small pieces of coloured stone known as tesserae.

Investigators said the mosaic was among 23 stolen Lebanese and Syrian mosaics seized in 2021 from a storage unit linked to Lebanese antiquities dealer Georges Lotfi.

Lotfi is the subject of an arrest warrant obtained by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 2022 and an Interpol Red Notice issued in 2023.

Items Seized From Metropolitan Museum of Art

Of the 36 objects returned, 13 had been seized from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said that since 2017, their office has seized hundreds of antiquities from the museum as part of investigations into potentially looted cultural property.

Four additional artefacts returned to Syria were among antiquities previously seized from American collector Michael Steinhardt.

A multi-year investigation into Steinhardt resulted in a 2021 agreement under which he accepted a lifetime ban on acquiring antiquities.

Another returned object was linked to Eugene Alexander, who was convicted in 2025 in connection with illicit antiquities trafficking.

Syrian Officials Welcome Return

Mohamad Naser Kanatri, Syria’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, welcomed the return and described it as an example of Syrian-American cooperation in protecting cultural heritage.

He said the recovery demonstrated how cooperation and shared efforts to protect heritage could help return important parts of Syria’s history.

The ceremony was also attended by Syrian and US officials and diplomats.

Syria’s Cultural Heritage Hit by Years of Looting

Syria’s archaeological sites and museums suffered extensive damage and looting during years of conflict.

Palmyra, one of Syria’s best-known archaeological sites, was particularly affected after ISIS captured the ancient city and destroyed several major monuments while antiquities were trafficked through international networks.

The latest repatriation forms part of broader international efforts to identify stolen antiquities, seize them from collections and trafficking networks, and return cultural property to its countries of origin.

For Syria, the return of the 36 pieces represents the recovery of artefacts spanning thousands of years of the country’s cultural and archaeological history.