The Federal Bureau of Investigation has returned three ancient artifacts smuggled from Tyre to the United States to the Lebanese government, reopening questions about trafficking in Lebanese antiquities.
The FBI, in cooperation with its offices in New York and New Orleans, the international bureau in Beirut, New York police and the U.S. State Department, recovered three pieces of lead coffins dating to the Roman period. The fragments bear the distinctive artistic and manufacturing characteristics of Tyre's workshops, allowing experts to identify their origin and verify they are part of Lebanon's cultural heritage.
American investigators believe the pieces were extracted from unauthorized excavations in Tyre or its surroundings, then smuggled from Lebanon before appearing in New York. The published information has not yet revealed the identity of the person who possessed them or the dealers and intermediaries involved in their transport and sale.
A handover ceremony took place in New York on September 2, attended by the Lebanese consul general and American officials, after which the pieces were transferred to Lebanese state custody. The FBI said the return strengthens cooperation with Lebanon in combating illicit trafficking in cultural property.
The recovery raises questions about clandestine excavations in southern Lebanon, who purchases finds from diggers, which land and sea routes are used to remove items from the country, and the role of antiquities dealers, auction houses and private collections in obscuring their true origins. It remains unknown whether the three pieces are connected to a broader American criminal investigation or whether their seizure led to Lebanese and foreign names or to additional pieces still in the United States.
