ROME, ITALY—According to a report in The Yucatan Times, Italian officials handed over 101 artifacts seized in Rome, Perugia, Udine, Ancona, and Consenza to Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s Foreign Minister; María Teresa Mercado, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs; Carlos García, Mexico’s ambassador to Italy; and researchers from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in a ceremony held at the Mexican Embassy in Rome. It has been determined that the artifacts came from a variety of archaeological sites in Mexico. The oldest has been dated to 900 B.C. Officials from both countries expressed the importance of cultural heritage to the nations, and highlighted that their cooperation includes the specialized training in the protection of heritage assets for members of the Mexican National Guard. In all, Italian officials have repatriated nearly 800 artifacts to Mexico since 2018. To read about a tomb uncovered at a little-known Maya city in Guatemala, go to "Unmasking a Maya Dynasty," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2024.
