ISTANBUL, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- "They're all like our children," said Zeynep Boz, head of the Anti-Smuggling Department at Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, when asked which looted artifact she most wants to be returned.
Boz has spent nearly two decades tracking down lost pieces of Anatolia's heritage, pursuing them across borders, at courtrooms and auction houses.
Among the many cases her team handles, the Bubon Investigation stands out -- a high-stake effort centered on Roman-era bronze statues and artifacts smuggled from a heavily looted site in southwest Türkiye during the 1960s. Several statues have already been successfully repatriated, and negotiations are underway to secure the return of the remaining pieces from museums and private collections in the United States and Europe.
In October, Türkiye launched the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk, a tool designed to help law enforcement agencies, museums and the art market to prevent the trafficking of cultural objects. Since 2000, ICOM has produced Red Lists for over 20 countries, to protect relics in regions that are most vulnerable to cultural property theft.
The list highlights seven categories of cultural objects at risk and includes 53 photographic examples from major Turkish museum collections. It is available online and distributed to law enforcement agencies, museums and the art market worldwide.
Boz noted that thorough documentation, including inventories and photographs, is often the most effective way to protect an artifact.
But reclaiming the past is fraught with legal and diplomatic challenges. "The biggest problem is the lack of standardized legal frameworks and wide variations in how countries apply cultural property agreements," Boz said.
She cited a recent negotiation over underwater artifacts looted from a sunken site in Türkiye in 1969, noting that authorities in the country holding the artifacts said they only recently joined the 1970 UNESCO Convention and bear no responsibility for items taken earlier.
"Even when ownership is clear, authorities often demand concrete evidence to justify returns," Boz said.
According to Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, a total of 13,282 artifacts have been repatriated to Türkiye between 2002 and 2025.
A notable success came earlier this year, when seven historical artifacts from the Late Bronze Age and Roman periods were returned by Swiss authorities under a 2022 bilateral agreement aimed at preventing the smuggling of cultural heritage.
Highlighting the importance of public involvement and law enforcement in a recent statement, Ersoy said, "Over the past five years, more than 900,000 cultural assets have been secured thanks to citizen tips. Our gendarmerie and customs officers also play a crucial role in preventing illegal excavations and smuggling."
Each returned artifact sends a strong signal to collectors that acquiring smuggled Turkish pieces carries serious risks, the minister added. ■
