Philosopher Emperor Marcus Aurelius on Display in Ankara
The International Archaeology Symposium, featuring the “Golden Age of Archaeology” exhibition featuring the statue of Marcus Aurelius, begins in Ankara on August 6th. The events, hosted by the Presidency, will bring together numerous scholars from Turkey and around the world.
The nearly two-thousand-year-old statue of Marcus Aurelius will be exhibited in Turkey for the first time. The artefact, which will be displayed in a special section of the Presidential Complex Exhibition Hall, will be presented to history and art enthusiasts. The statue’s historical and artistic significance will be discussed through scientific presentations during the symposium.
The three-day symposium will feature over 250 scholars, 29 of whom are international. A total of 33 academics, 17 of whom are international, will give presentations. With the participation of all excavation directors from across Turkey, the event will draw the attention of the archaeological world to Ankara. President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will deliver the opening speech at the event, held at the Presidential Complex. More than 80% of the works in the exhibition, which will run for approximately six months, will be on display for the first time.
The story of the statue’s return to Türkiye
The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, abducted from the ancient city of Boubon in Burdur in the 1960s, was returned to Turkey last month after a lengthy legal battle. Dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the statue was smuggled out of Turkey as a result of illegal excavations carried out in the 1960s at the ancient city of Boubon in the Gölhisar district of Burdur. The work changed hands over the years and entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, USA. The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York, and the US Department of Homeland Security Investigations launched a joint study in 2021. As a result of this study, statues and statue heads of Roman emperors of Boubon origin such as Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus, and Caracalla were returned to Turkey. Scientific data, academic research, archival documents, and eyewitness accounts collected over the years have demonstrated that the Marcus Aurelius statue belongs to the Sebasteion structure in the ancient city of Boubon.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Homeland Security Investigations Service (HSI) found Turkey’s request for repatriation justified, particularly given witness information regarding the illicit excavation in 1967, the exact match of the negative marks on the pedestal with the statue’s foot measurements, and the discovery of a similar sandal during excavations at the ancient city of Kybra. The Cleveland Museum of Art appealed the New York Supreme Court’s seizure order in October 2023, filing a lawsuit challenging the statue’s association with Bourbon. However, analyses conducted at the Curt Engelhorn Archaeometry Centre laboratories in Germany definitively demonstrated that the statue had been buried in the soil of Boubon for many years. In May 2024, a silicone mould of the statue’s foot was taken under the supervision of Ministry experts, and its exact compatibility with the pedestals at the ancient city of Boubon was documented. During the repatriation process, the Cleveland Museum of Art also requested a soil analysis to resolve scientific doubts regarding the work’s origins.
The relationship between a small hole in the pedestal beneath the statue and the lead protrusion at its foot was investigated. For this purpose, a reference soil sample was needed to prove the statue’s origin from the ancient city of Boubon. The Valerianus statue, seized in a 1967 gendarmerie operation and currently preserved in the Burdur Museum, was chosen as the reference. By comparing the soil from this statue with samples from the Marcus Aurelius statue, the two artefacts were investigated for their preservation in the same environment. Laboratory tests scientifically proved that both statues had the same soil composition and were excavated from the ancient city of Boubon. Upon this, the Cleveland Museum of Art dropped its lawsuit and accepted the return decision. The statue of the “Philosopher Emperor” Marcus Aurelius, removed from the ancient city of Boubon in the 1960s, returned to Turkey after 65 years. This unique work, exhibited in the US, was returned to Turkey with scientific analyses, archival documents, and witness testimony.
President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will deliver the opening speech at the event, which will be held at the Presidential Complex. More than 80% of the works in the exhibition, which will remain open for approximately six months, will be exhibited for the first time.
The Percentage of Works on Display for the First Time Exceeds 80%
In the exhibition, which brings together mythology, diplomacy, and science, each work tells its own story. The exhibition will feature artefacts from excavations conducted as part of the “Legacy for the Future” project, which has garnered worldwide attention.
A thousand-year-old plate unearthed at Karahantepe, hailed as the “discovery of the century,” from the Neolithic Age, a 3,500-year-old clay tablet found in Hatay, and a 1,000-year-old perfume bottle set recovered from underwater off the coast of Antalya are among the exhibition’s highlights.
Other notable works in the exhibition include the Scylla Head found in the Laodikeia excavations, a silver coin belonging to Orhan Gazi discovered in Karacahisar Castle and preserved in the Eskişehir Eti Museum, the sphinx in Gordion, the remains of a recycling workshop unearthed in Metropolis, and a Roman-era Cybele statue.
