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A missing panel from the large mosaic composition that includes Zeugma’s famed “Gypsy Girl” has been returned to Türkiye from the United States after scientific checks and diplomatic efforts led by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.
The panel, identified as the 13th known piece of the wider composition after the earlier return of 12 panels, will eventually be brought together with the rest of the work at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep, southeastern Türkiye.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced the return on social media, saying Türkiye had recovered another missing part of the mosaic long associated with the ancient city of Zeugma.
The mosaic was linked to a large floor composition uncovered in 1998 during rescue excavations at the ancient city of Zeugma in Nizip, a district of Gaziantep. The composition measured about 9.25 by 13.5 meters and included the Maenad head widely known to the public as the “Gypsy Girl,” a figure associated with the cult of Dionysus.
The newly returned panel was assessed after research led by Dr. Djamila Fellague of Grenoble Alpes University suggested that it could belong to the same large composition.
The information that the panel had been put up for sale through an online auction house was passed on to the Culture and Tourism Ministry through Zeugma excavation head Professor Kutalmis Gorkay.
Following the alert, ministry experts carried out detailed examinations of the panel. They found similarities with the larger “Gypsy Girl” composition in terms of tessera colors, geometric border design, compositional features, and traces showing that the piece had been cut out and removed.
Based on these findings, Turkish officials reached out to the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations unit and presented scientific evidence supporting Türkiye’s claim. The ministry also referred to the bilateral agreement in force between the two countries and requested that the artifact be seized.
The fact that Zeugma had previously been exposed to illegal excavations helped form the basis for the criminal assessment, while the 2018 return of 12 related pieces from Bowling Green State University in the United States also supported Türkiye’s legal case.
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After the U.S. investigation was completed, the panel was handed over to the Turkish Consulate General in Chicago and brought back to Türkiye by Turkish Cargo.
As in earlier restitution cases, the ministry said the return was secured through international cooperation without using public funds. The artifact was first delivered to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara and will be transferred to Gaziantep after the required procedures are completed.
Once the process is finalized, the panel will be displayed at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, where the “Gypsy Girl” mosaic is already exhibited.
Ersoy thanked the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Turkish Consulate General in Chicago, Turkish and international scholars, Turkish Airlines and Turkish Cargo for their role in the return.
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