Over 260 Ancient Artifacts to Be Returned to Cyprus from the U.S.

The United States is returning more than 260 ancient artifacts to Cyprus. In Claremont, Los Angeles, Deputy Minister of Culture Vasiliki Kassianidou received a total of 266 Cypriot antiquities.

The artifacts were delivered by Professor Tom Donnelly, the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Harvey Mudd College.

The collection of antiquities was originally taken from Cyprus in 1930 during British colonial rule by Harvey Mudd, co-founder and owner of the Cyprus Mines Corporation.

After Harvey Mudd's passing, his family established Harvey Mudd College, and following the death of his wife, the collection was donated to the college. Mudd's granddaughter, Victoria, expressed her desire to return the collection to Cyprus, and an agreement for its repatriation was signed in 2018.

The collection includes clay vessels, lamps, glass objects, a compass, figurines, a limestone head of a woman, and a significant number of copper tools and mirrors, all dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Roman period.

One of the most notable items is a copper artifact shaped like a bull's hide from the Late Bronze Age. This is the third such artifact discovered on Cyprus. One is currently housed in the British Museum, and the other is in the Cyprus Museum.

The Department of Antiquities is now preparing the artifacts for return, and they will be sent back to Cyprus in the coming days, nearly a century after they were taken.