A significant piece of history has been restored to the Zeugma Mosaic Museum as a long-missing panel of the famed Gypsy Girl Mosaic was officially reunited with its original collection. The 13th panel, which dates back to the second and third centuries CE, was welcomed back to Türkiye following a dedicated recovery effort, according to Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
During a handover ceremony held on Tuesday, Ersoy explained that the mosaic, widely recognized as a cultural symbol of Türkiye, had been fragmented during illegal excavations throughout the 1960s. Many of the resulting panels were smuggled out of the country. A major milestone occurred in 2018 when 12 of these panels were successfully repatriated and reassembled at the museum. The addition of this latest piece marks a further step in the restoration of the artwork.
The identification of the panel was confirmed through research conducted by Camila Felag of France's Grenoble Alpes University and scientific assessments led by Zeugma excavation director Kutalmis Gorkay, both of whom verified that the fragment belonged to the original composition. Once Turkish authorities discovered the piece had changed hands and eventually surfaced at an international auction, they launched a recovery mission. The piece was ultimately secured and returned to Türkiye following an investigation by the US Homeland Security Investigations unit.
Minister Ersoy emphasized the importance of this return, noting that it allows for a more comprehensive scientific study of the Zeugma mosaics and helps restore a damaged historical memory. He highlighted that the success of this recovery demonstrates the necessity of combining scientific research with legal mechanisms and international cooperation. To further these goals, Türkiye and the US have extended a 2021 memorandum of understanding on combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property for an additional five years.
Since 2002, Türkiye has successfully recovered 13,454 cultural artefacts, with 9,139 of those items returned within the last eight years. The government has pledged to maintain its efforts to retrieve every illegally exported cultural object and return them to their rightful homeland.
