WASHINGTON: The US on Thursday announced the return to Lebanon of Roman-era sarcophagus fragments looted from the southern city of Tyre and recovered during an FBI investigation.
The decorative lead fragments were handed over to the Lebanese consulate in New York ahead of their repatriation to Lebanon, the US embassy in Beirut said.
The embassy said the recovery “reflects the strong US-Lebanon partnership in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property”.
Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame said the fragments “were unearthed in the Tyre area during illegal excavations”.
“The fragments bear distinctive artistic, decorative and technical characteristics typical of workshops that produced lead sarcophagus in Tyre, which were among the city’s active and prolific workshops in antiquity.”
🏛️ Home at last! The U.S. Embassy Beirut celebrates the successful return of Roman-era lead sarcophagus fragments to Lebanon, handed over at a special ceremony on September 2 at the Lebanese Consulate in New York. 🇺🇸 🇱🇧
This achievement reflects the strong U.S.-Lebanon… pic.twitter.com/h2NNsxsG41
— U.S. Embassy Beirut (@usembassybeirut) September 3, 2026
According to the FBI, the antiquities “were stolen from illicit excavations in or around Tyre and were exported outside of Lebanon’s borders”.
The illicit trade in looted antiquities remains widespread across the Middle East, with New York — one of the world’s major art centres — home to wealthy collectors, galleries and auction houses.
In December 2017, three ancient artefacts were returned to Lebanon, including a Greek-origin bull’s head that had been displayed at the Met Gala and was valued at $1.2 million.
Salame said the Tyre region “is exceptionally rich in archaeological heritage” but “has recently suffered severe destruction” as a result of heavy Israeli strikes during the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah.
In July, UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural agency, placed Tyre on its World Heritage in Danger list.
US returns 48 artifacts to Egypt
Last month the FBI returned 48 cultural artefacts to representatives of the Egyptian government at a repatriation ceremony in Los Angeles.
The returned antiquities include carved figures, amulets and funerary objects dating from Egypt’s Pharaonic, Roman and Coptic periods.
With assistance from the US Department of State, antiquities experts and the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Cairo, officials confirmed that all 48 objects originated in Egypt and should be returned to the Egyptian people.
The FBI said repatriation ceremonies serve as an important demonstration of the goodwill and cooperation shared between nations, particularly between Egypt and the United States.
It said the return of cultural property was made possible through significant efforts by officials and experts from both countries, including those working in diplomacy, law enforcement and academia.
