Karun Treasure (Q4115387)

The Lydian Hoard is a sixth-century B.C. collection of gold and silver objects which was clandestinely excavated in Turkey in the 1960s. It was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) of New York. A formal demand for its return was made by Turkey in 1986. The request was rejected; hence Turkey commenced legal proceedings against the Museum. However, in 1993, the MET agreed to settle the dispute out-of-court and to return the collection to Turkey. (English)

investigated by

Sharon Waxman

Open Library ID

2 references

Chasing the Lydian Hoard

depicted by

Chasing the Lydian Hoard

1 reference

reference URL

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/chasing-the-lydian-hoard-93685665/

quotation

(In Turkey, the hoard became known as “the Karun treasures,” as Karun is the Arabic and Persian rendition of Croesus.) Acar became known in Usak for opposing the looting of Turkey’s cultural patrimony, and on one visit he was talking to some villagers in a café when one called him into the street to speak privately. “There are six or seven of us going to rob one of the tumuli,” the villager told him. “But my heart isn’t in it.” He gave Acar the name of the place and asked him to inform the local officials. Acar did. One of those officials was Kazim Akbiyikoglu, a local archaeologist and the curator of the Usak museum. The police assigned Akbiyikoglu to excavate there instead. He discovered a cache of treasures from the Phrygian kingdom, a civilization that followed the Lydians. (English)

Commons category

Karun Treasure in the Uşak archaeological museum

0 references