The statue of Marcus Aurelius was returned to Türkiye from the United States after 65 years.

The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, stolen from the ancient city of Boubon, was returned to Türkiye after 65 years. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy made a statement regarding the statue.

Minister Ersoy said, "It was a long-term struggle. We were right, we were determined, we were patient, and we won... We collected the necessary evidence, scratching with our fingernails! And we brought the 'Philosopher Emperor' Marcus Aurelius back to his homeland."

Zeynep Boz, head of the Anti-Smuggling Department, said that during the return process of the sculpture, the Cleveland Museum of Art requested a soil analysis to resolve scientific doubts about the work's origin.

Boz made the following statements:

"Something interesting happened here. Of course, the soil inside the statue was hardened. That's why we couldn't get a soil sample from the statue. Our restorers and conservators worked very hard to get it, but it wouldn't come. And that was the moment when it was our last chance."

To eliminate all concerns and negative comments, we could say that this statue was indeed of Anatolian origin, and indeed, of Burdur origin. At that point, we relied more on our instincts and scraped the soil from inside the statue with our fingernails to create a reference. And at that point, when the international expert said no more samples were coming, we, as ministry employees, stepped forward with a little more conviction and had the opportunity to collect these samples. Again, of course, under the supervision of our international expert. And we completed our sampling process, carried out with the utmost care using acid-free paper.