The Antiquities Department of the Deputy Ministry of Culture announces that on July 26, 2024, thirty-seven (37) Cypriot antiquities were repatriated from Stuttgart, Germany.
The antiquities had been exported from the Republic of Cyprus between 1964-1968 by a German citizen, who worked at the German Embassy in Nicosia during those years. After his death in 2023, his heir Mrs. Eva-Maria Waas contacted the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Berlin, expressing her desire to hand over the antiquities to the Cypriot authorities, with the aim of repatriating them to Cyprus.
The antiquities include clay vessels dating from the Early-Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000 BC) to the Medieval period, as well as four clay lamps, which date from the Cypriot-Classical to the Late Roman period .
The Department of Antiquities wishes to warmly thank Mrs. Waas both for her initiative to return the antiquities to Cyprus and for her excellent cooperation in this project.
Warmest thanks are also addressed to the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Berlin and especially to Ambassador Maria Papakyriakou and Deputy Head of Mission Mr. Dimitris Dimitriou for their valuable contribution to the repatriation of the antiquities.
The Department of Antiquities, as the competent Department of the Republic of Cyprus for the protection and management of the archaeological heritage of Cyprus, recognizes the important role that the public can play in the repatriation of antiquities and encourages those who wish to contribute in this area to contact them.
At the same time, the Department of Antiquities continues all efforts to protect the cultural heritage of both Cyprus and other countries, always in close cooperation with the National Commission for the Suppression of the Illicit Trafficking and Trafficking of Cultural Heritage.