Dimasheq
According to published information about the artifact’s journey, it was removed from Palmyra and first taken to Dubai, from where it was shipped to New York in 2011. In July 2021, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York City ordered its seizure as part of a collection of smuggled antiquities originating from Syria, Lebanon, and Libya. The artifacts were discovered in a warehouse belonging to a Lebanese antiquities dealer named George Lotfi.
In August 2022, the “Syrian Antiquities in Exile” page published a report on the case, coinciding with the issuance of an arrest warrant for Lotfi and an investigation into a collection of Syrian and Lebanese antiquities in his possession.
Yesterday, Wednesday, 23 September, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced the return of the artifact as part of a group of 36 other antiquities.
With the return of this artifact, Syria regains a meaningful and symbolic part of what it lost as a result of the disregard for its identity and history. As for the intellectual and historical value represented by the artifact, it cannot be fully understood without knowing the original site from which it was removed and the context in which it was originally situated—information that will most likely remain unknown forever.
Sources:
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office – New York, “District Attorney Bragg Announces Return of 36 Antiquities to the Syrian People,” 23 September 2026.
