NEW YORK, NEW YORK—The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has repatriated to Greece looted artifacts that had been held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, according to the Greek Reporter. The objects include five pieces of armor illegally excavated from the island of Crete. The two bronze helmets and three mitrai, or protective pieces worn on the lower abdomen, have been dated to the late seventh century B.C. A review of archaeological publications, archival material, and official records and correspondence has shown that the armor was looted from the site of Afrati in 1964. These pieces will be sent to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, and reunited with armor unearthed at Afrati during rescue excavations conducted by the Greek Archaeological Service in 1968 and 1969. A Cycladic marble figurine dated to between 2700 and 2600 B.C., a marble pyxis lid dated to the Early Bronze Age, a bronze bracelet dated to the Archaic period, a marble shell dated to about 400 B.C., and a Hellenistic gold necklace with an amphora-shaped pendant were also returned during the ceremony. To read about an unusual Minoan building unearthed on Papoura Mountain, go to "Crete's Inner Circles," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2025.
