Uşak Museum of Archaeology

Uşak Museum of Archaeology
Uşak Arkeoloji Müzesi
Location of Uşak in Turkey
Established May 23, 1970 (1970-05-23)
Location Uşak, Turkey
Coordinates 38°40′27″N 29°24′12″E / 38.67416°N 29.40326°E / 38.67416; 29.40326
Type Archaeology
Collection size 363 pieces of Karun Treasure and many other items from Bronze Age, Hellenistic and Ancient Roman Period.

The Uşak Museum of Archaeology (Turkish: Uşak Arkeoloji Müzesi) is an archaeological museum in Uşak in western Turkey. Founded on May 23, 1970, the museum is best known for its exhibitions of Karun treasure.

In the museum, items on display include sculptures, pitchers with beaklike spouts and stone axes from the Bronze Age, earthen dishes and glassware from the Hellenistic and Ancient Roman Period, and stelae from the nearby Roman ancient ruin site of Blaundus. The most interesting items are of the so-called Karun treasure belonging to the Lydian Period.[1]

Karun treasure

The artifacts, making a collection of 363 pieces, date back to the 7th century BCE. They were illegally excavated by villagers in 1966 from the tomb of a Lydian noble woman, smuggled outside the country and sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York, USA. After their discovery in a catalogue of the museum in 1984, Turkish journalist Özgen Acar informed the Turkish government, which launched a judicial case against The Met. After a legal battle, the collection was returned in 1993 to Turkey.[2]

Museum theft case

In 2006 two museum items from the Karun Treasure (Lydian Hoard) were found to be stolen and replaced by fake ones: a coin and a golden brooch in the form of a hippocamp (wingedseahorse). Kazım Akbıyıkoğlu, the director of the museum, was accused of the theft and placed in custody.[3]

After an investigation the director of the museum, Kazim Akbiyikoglu, was arrested with 10 others. Akbiyikoglu admitted guilt, blaming gambling debts. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison. [4]

In November 2012, it was announced that the golden brooch would be returned to Turkey[5] The returned piece was put temporarily on display in the Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.[6] before being returned to the Uşak Museum of Archaeology.

References

  1. ↑ "Museum of Uşak Archaeology". Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  2. ↑ "We have to change the buyer's attitude". The Courier UNESCO. April 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2001. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  3. ↑ "Croesus riches replaced by fakes". BBC. 2006-05-29. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  4. ↑ Arsu, Sebnem; Robertson, Campbell (May 30, 2006). "Wealth of Croesus, Returned by the Met, Stolen From Turkish Museum". New York Times. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  5. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/25/king-croesus-treasure-returning-turkey
  6. ↑ Anatolia News Agency (May 20, 2013). "Winged seahorse brooch attracts viewers". Hurriety Daily News. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.