Five pieces of ancient Cretan armor linked to a large-scale illegal excavation more than six decades ago are returning to Greece, allowing them to be reunited with archaeological finds from the same site that are already held in Crete.
The two bronze helmets and three mitrai, protective guards worn around the lower abdomen, date to the late seventh century BC and have been traced to Afrati in the Viannos area of Crete. Greek authorities say the objects were removed following an extensive illicit excavation there in 1964.
They are among 15 antiquities being repatriated from the United States, according to Greece’s Culture Ministry. Their formal handover to Culture Minister Lina Mendoni took place at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York on September 21.
The ministry said the latest return brings to 179 the number of Greek antiquities repatriated since 2022 through decisions by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Ancient armor separated from its archaeological context
The five Cretan objects are particularly significant because Greek researchers were able to connect them to the 1964 illicit excavation at Afrati through archaeological publications, archival material, official correspondence and records of antiquities seized in the same area.
Comparable finds connected to the excavation were recovered by Greek authorities and are now kept at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. The return therefore makes it possible to bring together objects that once formed part of the same archaeological context after decades of separation, the Culture Ministry said.
Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York confirmed that the five armor pieces were among eight objects from its collection being returned to Greece.
The Met describes the group as two helmets and three mitrai from Afrati, all dating to the late seventh century BC. The museum said the armor is believed to have been deposited at an Archaic Greek sanctuary at the site, where the Greek archaeological service later conducted rescue excavations in 1968 and 1969.
The museum’s own records provide an additional glimpse into the history of the objects. The three bronze mitrai, for example, entered the Met as a gift of the Norbert Schimmel Trust in 1989. One is decorated with horses, another with winged horses and the third with sphinxes. Two also bear ancient inscriptions.
Eight objects returned by the Met
Alongside the five pieces of armor, the Met is returning three other antiquities: a Middle Helladic terracotta beak-spouted jug, a Hellenistic gold-and-garnet pendant in the form of an amphora and a Roman marble head of a veiled man dating to the first half of the first century AD.
The museum said new information from investigations by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, combined with its own provenance research, contributed to the decision to return those three works. They had entered the museum through art dealers who have been subject to investigation.
The broader group of 15 antiquities identified by the Greek Culture Ministry spans several periods of Greek and Mediterranean history.
Among them are a Cycladic marble female figurine of the Spedos type dating to about 2700-2600 BC, a marble pyxis lid from the Early Bronze Age, a bronze bracelet from the Archaic period, a marble shell dating to around 400 BC and a Hellenistic gold necklace with an amphora-shaped pendant.
The group also includes an early Roman marble male head that Greek authorities believe may have represented a Genius, a Roman religious personification associated with the spirit or protective power of an individual, including the emperor. The identification is an interpretation rather than a certainty.
Decades of research behind the Afrati return
The Afrati objects stand apart because their archaeological origin could be reconstructed in unusual detail.
Greece’s Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Goods examined publications, archival records, documents sent by archaeological authorities to police and evidence from earlier seizures in the region. According to the Culture Ministry, that work made it possible to identify the objects and establish their illegal movement out of Greece.
Mendoni said the return demonstrates the importance of research and cooperation between Greek authorities and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit. She emphasized that Greece has participated directly in the identification and documentation of cultural objects removed from the country.
The ceremony was also attended by Matthew Bogdanos, head of the Manhattan DA’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, Greek Consul General in New York Ifigenia Kanara and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Cate Dillon, among other Greek and U.S. officials.
For the five pieces from Afrati, however, the significance extends beyond another addition to Greece’s growing tally of repatriated antiquities. Their return restores part of an archaeological group fractured by illicit digging in Crete in 1964, placing objects separated for more than 60 years back within the historical context from which they came.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
