A 2,700-year-old gold necklace from the Ancient Kingdom of Lydia, displayed at a museum in the United States since it was stolen decades ago, has been returned to Turkish authorities.
The artefact, dated to the 6th or 5th centuries BCE, was handed over in a ceremony at the Turkish Consulate in Boston.
It is one of 21 historical artefacts repatriated to Türkiye since the beginning of this year.
In a statement on X, Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy reported that the necklace will reach home in the coming days.
The artefact is about 20 centimetres (7.8 inches) long and made of carnelian beads shaped like pomegranates. It holds significant historical and cultural value for the region.
It was stolen from the Turkish Aegean province of Manisa and smuggled into the US in 1982. It had been displayed at a museum in Boston for many years.
