The goddess figurine stolen from Çatalhöyük 84 years ago has returned to Türkiye

The mother goddess figurine found during excavations at the important Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Anatolia in 1960 has returned to Türkiye.

The 9,000-year-old mother goddess figurine was brought back to Türkiye following the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, based on information that it was part of the Shelby White collection in the United States.

As part of the International Day Against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property, it has begun to be exhibited at the Karatay Medrese Ceramic Works Museum.

After being displayed for a while at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, the figurine has now found its place at the Konya Museum.

Ömer Faruk Türkan, the Director of the Konya Museums, stated that the figurine was illegally taken from the Çatalhöyük site in the late 1960s and that its return from the United States involved a long and challenging process.

In addition to the statuette of the Mother Goddess, other artifacts seized by the gendarmerie and police are also on display in the museum.