German museum to return looted Greek artefacts

The first repatriation of antiquities removed from Greek soil during the German occupation in World War II is expected in June, Skai reported on Wednesday.

German museum to return 8,000 Neolithic pottery sherds looted from illegal
excavations in Thessaly in 1941 [Credit: To Vima]

The repatriation concerns about 8,000 pottery fragments currently in storage in the Pfahlbaumuseum in Bodensee.

In a letter addressed to Greek Parliament, Deputy Culture Minister Costas Tzavaras noted that the German cultural institution had expressed its intent to return the artefacts by next month.

Traced to the neolithic period, the fragments were discovered during an illegal excavation conducted in 1941 near Velestino, Thessaly, in central Greece. They were subsequently exported, illegally, by a German archaeologist.

The German museum informed Greek authorities of the existence of the antiquities in 2010.

Source: ekathimerini [May 29, 2013]