site.btaAncient Helmet Returns to Bulgaria after Massive International Investigation Led by New York District Attorney
ESD 18:19:31 11-02-2022
MY1816ES.112
112 CULTURE - INTERIOR MINISTRY - ARTEFACT Amp.
Ancient Helmet Returns to Bulgaria
after Massive International
Investigation Led by New York District Attorney
Sofia, February 11 (BTA) - An ancient helmet originating from modern-day Bulgaria was returned to this country by US authorities, said the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior. That was possible thanks to the New York District Attorney's Office leading a massive international operation to neutralize a criminal scheme for trafficking artefacts of cultural and historical value. Law enforcement agencies from 11 different countries (Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Turkey) took part in the operation.
The helmet was seized from one of the world's largest collections of ancient artefacts after US investigators were able to prove that it had been imported through illicit trafficking. The headgear dating back to 500-400 BCE has an estimated worth of USD 200,000. It is made of iron, silver, bronze, and organic materials. Experts believe its place of origin is close to the village of Pletena, Southwestern Bulgaria and speculate it may have been worn by Philip II of Macedon.
On February 10, an official ceremony at the Consulate General of Bulgaria in New York marked the return of the antique. The Consul General Maya Hristova offered a letter of thanks from Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov to the heads of the US agencies who led the operation while partnering with the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime and the International Operational Cooperational Directorate with the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior.
In her speech Consul General Hristova said that this event strengthened the already excellent cooperation between the two countries law enforcement and judicial institutions.
The U.S. Embassy is Sofia announced on Friday the awarding of an USD 80,000 Cultural Property Agreement Implementation Grant (CPAIG) to create a pilot digital registry to prevent the trafficking of Bulgarian antiquities. Under the terms of the grant, the Bulgarian Fulbright Commission, together with the Balkan Heritage Foundation, the Bulgarian National Police, the National Archaeological Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM BAN), and the Pazardzhik Regional History Museum, will work to address the ever-growing threats of the theft of antiquities from Bulgarian museum collections The project, titled "Bulgarian Museum Collections at Risk: Digitization and Prevention", will create theft prevention tools: a risk assessment toolkit to identify at-risk artifacts, a data-sharing system for museums, and a registry of trafficked artifacts returned to Bulgarian museums. Various expert groups will work on the creation of these tools and will then train museum staff and police officers to use them.
Bulgaria and the United States have a long history of working together to protect Bulgaria's cultural heritage, including through professional exchanges, trainings, law enforcement cooperation, and restoration projects, the US Embassy said, recalling that cooperation in this area was boosted by the signing of the Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding for the Protection of Bulgaria's Cultural Property in 2014, which was renewed in 2019. Through programs like the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, the Embassy has spent more than USD 1.1 million (1.8 million leva) on preserving and protecting some of Bulgaria's most historic and endangered cultural sites.
"I welcome the return of this invaluable artifact to Bulgaria and applaud the efforts of the law enforcement groups from the United States and Bulgaria that made it happen," said U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria Herro Mustafa. "The U.S. government is committed to working with our Bulgarian partners to defend and preserve your country's rich past through the CPAIG grant, the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, and more," Ambassador Mustafa is quoted as saying by her Embassy. RY/NZ, MY
/МЙ/
MY1816ES.112
112 CULTURE - INTERIOR MINISTRY - ARTEFACT Amp.
Ancient Helmet Returns to Bulgaria
after Massive International
Investigation Led by New York District Attorney
Sofia, February 11 (BTA) - An ancient helmet originating from modern-day Bulgaria was returned to this country by US authorities, said the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior. That was possible thanks to the New York District Attorney's Office leading a massive international operation to neutralize a criminal scheme for trafficking artefacts of cultural and historical value. Law enforcement agencies from 11 different countries (Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Turkey) took part in the operation.
The helmet was seized from one of the world's largest collections of ancient artefacts after US investigators were able to prove that it had been imported through illicit trafficking. The headgear dating back to 500-400 BCE has an estimated worth of USD 200,000. It is made of iron, silver, bronze, and organic materials. Experts believe its place of origin is close to the village of Pletena, Southwestern Bulgaria and speculate it may have been worn by Philip II of Macedon.
On February 10, an official ceremony at the Consulate General of Bulgaria in New York marked the return of the antique. The Consul General Maya Hristova offered a letter of thanks from Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov to the heads of the US agencies who led the operation while partnering with the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime and the International Operational Cooperational Directorate with the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior.
In her speech Consul General Hristova said that this event strengthened the already excellent cooperation between the two countries law enforcement and judicial institutions.
The U.S. Embassy is Sofia announced on Friday the awarding of an USD 80,000 Cultural Property Agreement Implementation Grant (CPAIG) to create a pilot digital registry to prevent the trafficking of Bulgarian antiquities. Under the terms of the grant, the Bulgarian Fulbright Commission, together with the Balkan Heritage Foundation, the Bulgarian National Police, the National Archaeological Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM BAN), and the Pazardzhik Regional History Museum, will work to address the ever-growing threats of the theft of antiquities from Bulgarian museum collections The project, titled "Bulgarian Museum Collections at Risk: Digitization and Prevention", will create theft prevention tools: a risk assessment toolkit to identify at-risk artifacts, a data-sharing system for museums, and a registry of trafficked artifacts returned to Bulgarian museums. Various expert groups will work on the creation of these tools and will then train museum staff and police officers to use them.
Bulgaria and the United States have a long history of working together to protect Bulgaria's cultural heritage, including through professional exchanges, trainings, law enforcement cooperation, and restoration projects, the US Embassy said, recalling that cooperation in this area was boosted by the signing of the Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding for the Protection of Bulgaria's Cultural Property in 2014, which was renewed in 2019. Through programs like the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, the Embassy has spent more than USD 1.1 million (1.8 million leva) on preserving and protecting some of Bulgaria's most historic and endangered cultural sites.
"I welcome the return of this invaluable artifact to Bulgaria and applaud the efforts of the law enforcement groups from the United States and Bulgaria that made it happen," said U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria Herro Mustafa. "The U.S. government is committed to working with our Bulgarian partners to defend and preserve your country's rich past through the CPAIG grant, the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, and more," Ambassador Mustafa is quoted as saying by her Embassy. RY/NZ, MY
/МЙ/
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