Two ancient Greek marble vases from more than 2000 years ago have been returned to Greece from Switzerland.
According to Associated Press, the two plundered vases marked ancient Athenian graves and one of them includes an emotional family scene.
In a statement on Tuesday, Greece’s Culture Ministry said that the two white marble works, which were decorated with relief sculptures, were brought back following a long legal battle.
Both artefacts, one 60cm and the other 54cm, are broken, missing the necks and parts of the bases. It is said they date back to the 4th century B.C. and would have stood on family graves somewhere near Athens.
However, because they were dug up in secret and illegally exported it seems unlikely their exact spot will be found.
The vase depicting a family scene shows a seated elderly man being farewelled by his son, who is wearing an ancient Athenian soldier armour, and wife. The other has plant motifs.
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the return of plundered antiquities from abroad is a “top political priority”.
The ministry statement said the two items were first located in 2002 in Basel, Switzerland, when Italian and Swiss authorities raided an Italian antiquities dealer’s warehouse.
Ten years ago they were returned to the dealer after an Italian court ruled they were not from Italy.
In 2017, Greek authorities saw the vases were being sold by a Swiss dealer, and successfully had Switzerland seize them.
It was found that Swiss authorities had sold them to the second dealer to cover legal costs incurred by the Italian dealer.
Now after six years of legal efforts, they were delivered to Greece on June 26 and will be exhibited at a museum with finds from the Kerameikos, the main cemetery of ancient Athens.
