The question of whom archeological finds belong to can be a fraught one. It may be reasonable for the Greeks to demand Greek artifacts from other European countries. It’s not however remotely reasonable for the Turks to expect Roman artifacts that they have no connection with beyond invading, conquering, and then looting the territory where they could be found. That’s the equivalent of a car thief demanding the impound lot return the car he stole. And yet, the Islamic colonizers in Turkey are demanding the head of a Roman statue.
A bronze head of Emperor Septimius Severus on display at a Copenhagen museum has become a bone of contention between the Danish museum and Turkey, which claims it was looted during an archaeological dig in the 1960s and wants it back.
After decades in the United States as part of a private collection that loaned it to New York’s Metropolitan Museum, a statue of the Roman emperor, who lived from AD 145 to 211, was recently sent back to Turkey — minus the head.
Give us back the thing you stole from us after we stole it from its original owners.
The statue isn’t Turkish. It’s a European artifact located on territory seized by Turkey. The Danes have more of a right to it than the Turks do since at least there’s some cultural overlap. Still I can understand why they sent back the statue minus the head. Beheading things is after all rather popular in Islam.
For Turkish authorities on the other hand, the origin of the head is not in dispute, and in particular, they quote the work of the late Turkish archaeologist, Jale Inan, who took measurements of the head and body.
“The bronze comes from Bubon in Turkey. And like all objects from Turkey, we are asking for it to be returned,” said Mehmet Bulut, the Turkish charge d’affaires in Denmark.
The correct response would be that Turkey can get the head when they return the Hagia Sophia.
Also, what exactly is a country ruled by an Islamist tyrant supposed to do with a nude male statue anyway? How long is it going to survive in an Islamist hellhole whose leaders have links to the Islamist vandals who wrecked priceless artifacts in Syria? Perhaps the Danes can trade a few boxes of Korans for some art.
Or maybe someone can make a Mohammed head out of mashed potatoes and grease. Surely they’d negotiate for that.