BEIRUT, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's National Museum unveiled Friday five repatriated Lebanese antiquities looted during the Civil War at the museum hall under the patronage of Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury and in the presence of U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard.
The five marble sculptures, a bull's head and four men's torsos, were discovered in the Eshmun Temple in Sidon between 1963 and 1978 but disappeared in 1981. The artifacts were sculpted in the Greek style between the 6th and 4th centuries BC.
The bull's head and two of the statues were found in New York in two separate private collections. One collector returned "statue of a male" voluntarily but the collector who had the bull's head and the statue, known as "a calf bearer," contested Lebanon's ownership claim. The pieces were seized in October 2017 after a legal battle.
"Torso of a male" had ended up in a gallery in Berlin and was returned voluntarily. The last statue, thought to be of a young boy, was seized at the Tripoli port in January of this year as it was being smuggled out of Lebanon.
Richard said in a speech on the occasion "I know how hard the Lebanese have worked to obtain and return these antiquities to Lebanon. I'd also like to say a word about how hard Lebanon has worked to return other people's antiquities to them. I know that it's been a tireless effort over the years for Lebanese ministry officials, Directorate of Antiquities officials, but also the security services."
For his part, Khoury said "I have a word for the illicit traffickers in Lebanon: I have zero tolerance for you. Wherever you are, I will follow you with my administration and we will get back what belongs to us."
