As recently posted, the Royal-Athena Galleries, New York,had until recently a sarcophagus, which presents a battle between Greeks and Trojans (c. 200 A.D.), on sale. The gallery is owned by Dr. Jerome Eisenberg, New York, and has a more than doubtful history, since it is tighly connected with the Italian illicit antiquities dealer Gianfranco Becchina.

The Prosecutor Mr. Cyrus Vance Jr. and the assistant Attorney of Greek descent, Mr. Matthew Bogdanos returned to the Consul General of Greece in New York, Constantinos Koutras, the marble sarcophagus, that was stolen and smuggled abroad in the 1980s.Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist and Research Assistant in the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Glasgow, identified the artifact and alerted the authorities. The item was stolen from Greece in 1988.

Christos Tsirogiannis and the Consul General of Greece in New York, Constantinos Koutras, talk to ellines.com about the repatriation of the sarcophagus.

Read the full interview!