The Department of Antiquities at the Deputy Ministry of Culture announced on Monday that on the 18th of June 2026, one Cypriot antiquity was handed over to the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Paris.

As noted, the antiquity was originally located on May 14, 2025, in an online auction in France by Officers of the Department of Antiquities that are responsible for monitoring the illicit trafficking of Cypriot antiquities on the internet.

It is added that following a coordinated one-year effort involving the Department of Antiquities, the Cyprus Police, Interpol and the French Ministry of Culture and especially the Regional Archaeology Service of Occitanie, the holder of the antiquity decided to return it to its country of origin.

As stated, the object is a quadriga chariot, drawn by four horses, which dates to the Cypro-Archaic I-II period (600 BC), in the chariot box, which is rectangular in shape, there are two figures: a warrior bearing a shield and a charioteer, both wearing conical helmets. Similar votive terracotta quadrigas have been excavated in both tombs and sanctuaries.

The Department of Antiquities expressed its sincere gratitude to all the agencies that contributed to this process, as well as to the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Paris for its cooperation and coordination during the repatriation process.

CNA/KA/MK/2026