Uşak Museum of Archaeology
Encyclopedia
The Uşak Museum of Archaeology is an archaeological
museum in Uşak
in western Turkey
. Founded on May 23, 1970, the museum is best known for its exhibitions of Karun treasure.
In the museum, items are on exhibition like sculptures, pitchers with beaklike spout and stone axes from the Bronze Age
, earthen dishes and glassware from the Hellenistic and Ancient Roman Period, stelae from the nearby Roman ancient ruin site of Blaundus. The most interesting items are of the so-called Karun treasure belonging to the Lydia
n Period.
(The Met) in New York
, USA. After their discovery in a catalogue of the museum in 1984, Turkish journalist Özgen Acar informed the Turkish government, which launched a judicial case against The Met. After a legal battle, the collection was returned in 1993 to Turkey.
, a winged horse-shaped sea monster. Kazım Akbıyıkoğlu, the director of the museum was accused of the theft and placed in custody.
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
museum in Uşak
Usak
Uşak is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. The city has a population of 180,414 and is the capital of Uşak Province. The mayor is Ali Erdoğan ....
in western Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Founded on May 23, 1970, the museum is best known for its exhibitions of Karun treasure.
In the museum, items are on exhibition like sculptures, pitchers with beaklike spout and stone axes from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, earthen dishes and glassware from the Hellenistic and Ancient Roman Period, stelae from the nearby Roman ancient ruin site of Blaundus. The most interesting items are of the so-called Karun treasure belonging to the Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
n Period.
Karun treasure
The artifacts, making a collection of 363 pieces, are dating from the 7th century BC. They were illegally excavated by villagers in 1966 from the tomb of a Lydian noble woman, smuggled outside the country and sold to the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
(The Met) in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA. After their discovery in a catalogue of the museum in 1984, Turkish journalist Özgen Acar informed the Turkish government, which launched a judicial case against The Met. After a legal battle, the collection was returned in 1993 to Turkey.
Museum theft case
In 2006, it was discovered that two museum items were stolen and replaced by fake ones, a coin and a golden brooch in the form of a hippocampHippocamp
The hippocamp or hippocampus , often called a sea-horse in English, is a mythological creature shared by Phoenician and Greek mythology, though the name by which it is recognised is purely Greek; it became part of Etruscan mythology...
, a winged horse-shaped sea monster. Kazım Akbıyıkoğlu, the director of the museum was accused of the theft and placed in custody.