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# FBI returns three looted Roman sarcophagus fragments to Lebanon
- URL: https://www.urgentmatter.press/fbi-returns-three-looted-roman-sarcophagus-fragments-lebanon/
- Published: 2026-09-05T03:36:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-05T03:36:56.000Z
- Description: The panels were illegally excavated near Tyre, which UNESCO placed on its World Heritage in Danger list in July after Israeli strikes.
- Author: Adam Schrader
- Tags: Government and Cultural Heritage, #public-access

The FBI returned three fragments of Roman-period lead sarcophagi to Lebanon at a ceremony in New York on September 2.

The pieces date to 101–300 A.D. and come from ancient sarcophagus workshops at Tyre in southern Lebanon, the FBI said in a news release. Investigators linked the panels to Lebanon’s cultural heritage.

The fragments were taken from illegal digs in the Tyre area and smuggled abroad, the FBI said. A 1933 law bars anyone in Lebanon from excavating, selling or exporting antiquities without state permission.

Talal Daher, Lebanon’s consul general in New York, presided over the ceremony on behalf of Nada Hamadeh Moawad, the country’s ambassador to the United States.

“The dialogue between nations is not only political or economic—it is also deeply human. It is built on mutual understanding, on recognizing the value in each other’s stories,” Daher said.

“In returning these panels, we affirm that Lebanon’s heritage is part of the world’s heritage, and that protecting it is a responsibility we all share.”

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The FBI’s Art Crime Program was represented by Supervisory Special Agent Jake Archer, and the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center by Foreign Affairs Officer Virginia Herrmann; both delivered remarks, the FBI said. Members of the New York Art Crime Team, which sits within the FBI/NYPD Joint Major Theft Task Force, attended.

“Protecting cultural property is about preserving the identity and history of communities around the world. Illicit trafficking robs nations of their heritage and fuels criminal networks,” James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said in a statement.

“The FBI’s commitment is unwavering, and we will continue working with partners to ensure cultural treasures remain where they belong.”

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said the handover took place at the Lebanese consulate in New York before the objects are sent home. The recovery “reflects the strong US-Lebanon partnership in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property,” the embassy said.

Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame said the fragments “bear distinctive artistic, decorative and technical characteristics typical of workshops that produced lead sarcophagi in Tyre, which were among the city’s active and prolific workshops in antiquity,” AFP reported.

Salame called Tyre “exceptionally rich in archaeological heritage” and said recent Israeli airstrikes had inflicted severe damage on the site, Arab News reported.

UNESCO added Tyre to its World Heritage in Danger list on July 22 at the request of the Lebanese government, during the 48th session of its World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea. UNESCO said the site “has been directly hit and has sustained damage.”

The International Council on Monuments and Sites has also penned urgent alerts in recent months after strikes at Tyre, Urgent Matter [previously reported](https://www.urgentmatter.press/idf-alerts-lebanese-residents-evacuate-near-tyre-icomos-pens-urgent-warning/).

“The strikes damaged the entrance precinct, administration buildings, and archaeological warehouses of the World Heritage property,” ICOMOS said of Israeli strikes in June.

The FBI has previously returned antiquities to Lebanon, including a fenestrated ceremonial bronze axe from Byblos in 2018.

*Read more about repatriation at Urgent Matter’s* [*repatriation tracker*](https://www.urgentmatter.press/art-restitution-tracker-a-global-ledger-of-looted-art-returns-and-disputes/)*, and please sign up for a paid subscription if you value this reporting.*