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Russian Culture Official Suggests Legendary Gold Collection From Troy Unlikely be Returned Germany
AP ^ | 2/27/05

Posted on 02/27/2005 2:03:19 AM PST by LibWhacker

MOSCOW (AP) - A legendary collection of gold objects from ancient Troy seized by Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 should become Russian government property, a top Russian cultural official said in remarks published Saturday.

But Anatoly Vilkov, deputy chief of the Russian agency that preserves the nation's cultural legacy, stopped short of ruling out the objects' return, as quoted by the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.

The gold collection - excavated by amateur German archaeologist Hermann Schliemann - will be made federal property after it is inventoried, he said. It could be exhibited in Germany but only if its return is guaranteed, he said.

"In line with the law on transferred valuables, everything that the Soviet Union took as compensation, which includes Schliemann's gold as well, is not subject to return," Vilkov said. "All these valuables should become our federal property."

Schliemann discovered the Trojan Gold, also known as King Priam's Treasure, in 1873 in what is now northwestern Turkey. He believed the gold belonged to Priam, king of Troy, the city featured in Homer's epic, The Iliad.

Experts later determined that the hoard dated back to the Bronze Age about 2500 B.C., long before Homer.

Russia and Germany have long sparred over the fate of the collection, as well as thousands of other valuables taken from Germany as World War II drew to an end. Vilkov told a news conference earlier this month that Russia holds some 249,000 art objects, more than 260,000 archive files and 1.25 million books and publications.

Germany and other countries have pressed for the return of the collections, which they argue were taken illegally.

A 2000 Russian law distinguishes between illegal trophies - taken without a military commander's sanction - and those Moscow sees as restitution for the 27 million Soviet lives lost, 100 museums destroyed and utter ruin of entire cities during the conflict it calls the Great Patriotic War.


TOPICS: Germany; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: age; amberroom; anatolia; archaeology; bronze; bronzeage; germany; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; gold; history; imperialism; kingpriam; priam; russia; russian; treasure; trojanwar; troy; turkey

1 posted on 02/27/2005 2:03:22 AM PST by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

What's with these people? The treasures of Troy belong to Turkey, from whence they were purloined by Schleimann.

The Turks are so dismayed by ongoing vandalism of ancient sites that the Turkish Army guards all of them, complete with tanks. Not exactly a welcoming sight, but understandable considering the fortune in ancient artifacts that have been stolen.


2 posted on 02/27/2005 2:12:34 AM PST by Veto! (Opinions freely dispensed as advice)
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Sorry about the title. It exceeded the 100 character limit, so I cut out a couple of occurrences of 'to.' Really mangled it. :-(


3 posted on 02/27/2005 2:13:26 AM PST by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

"A legendary collection of gold objects from ancient Troy seized by Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 should become Russian government property"

It's the least they could do, what with making the Soviet POWs eat each other in camps and everything.


4 posted on 02/27/2005 2:22:16 AM PST by RockinRye
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To: LibWhacker

I'd keep the Trojan gold too..


5 posted on 02/27/2005 2:36:19 AM PST by AntiGuv (™)
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To: LibWhacker

What whiners. The Germans lost it fair and square. Next thing you know they'll be crying that they be given the Sudetenland back.


6 posted on 02/27/2005 4:52:11 AM PST by joshhiggins
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To: LibWhacker

Losers Weepers, Looters Keepers!


7 posted on 02/27/2005 11:27:23 AM PST by wildbill
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To: blam; FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; StayAt HomeMother; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; ...
See also In Search of the Real Troy.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest
-- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

8 posted on 04/26/2005 10:31:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (FR profiled updated Monday, April 11, 2005. Fewer graphics, faster loading.)
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To: RockinRye

"It's the least they could do, what with making the Soviet POWs eat each other in camps and everything."

Don't ask, don't tell. ;')


9 posted on 04/26/2005 10:33:19 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (FR profiled updated Monday, April 11, 2005. Fewer graphics, faster loading.)
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To: Veto!
The treasures of Troy belong to Turkey

By that logic the Turks should return the whole country to the indigenous peoples and go home. Nothing in the entire country is Turkish heritage.

10 posted on 04/27/2005 12:30:36 AM PDT by RightWhale (50 trillion sovereign cells working together in relative harmony)
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To: LibWhacker
Apparently, 'To the victor, go the spoils' loses something in translation to German.
11 posted on 04/27/2005 3:12:28 AM PDT by elli1
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To: LibWhacker

The Schleimann gold was/is the largest singe 'find' of gold ever.


12 posted on 04/27/2005 6:46:43 AM PDT by blam
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To: blam

Maybe the Russians would trade Schleimann's gold for the missing Amber Room? ;o)


13 posted on 04/27/2005 2:37:34 PM PDT by ruoflaw
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To: ruoflaw
"Maybe the Russians would trade Schleimann's gold for the missing Amber Room? ;o)"

What a mystery, huh?

I've read that a replica of the original has been made.

14 posted on 04/27/2005 4:14:09 PM PDT by blam
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To: ruoflaw
(Amber Room)Mystery Lost, Puzzle Solved

On the orders of President Vladimir Putin, a replica of the Amber Room was finished last year at the restored Catherine Palace in St Petersburg.

15 posted on 04/27/2005 4:21:02 PM PDT by blam
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To: Veto!
What's with these people? The treasures of Troy belong to Turkey, from whence they were purloined by Schleimann.

Hell no... I think the Greeks should get it, it's theirs by right of conquest.

16 posted on 04/27/2005 4:33:20 PM PDT by Pelayo (Practice safe government, use kingdoms!)
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To: Pelayo

If right of conquest counts, then Russia can keep the stuff...or it can be shipped to the Reagan library in California. "Tear down that wooden horse, Mr. Gorbachev."


17 posted on 04/27/2005 4:38:03 PM PDT by Veto! (Opinions Freely Dispensed as Advice)
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To: blam

The replica is beautiful!


18 posted on 04/28/2005 5:04:31 PM PDT by ruoflaw
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To: LibWhacker

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·

 
Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

·Dogpile · Archaeologica · ArchaeoBlog · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society ·
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google ·
· The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·


19 posted on 12/04/2009 7:43:53 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Just updating the GGG information, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


20 posted on 06/21/2013 9:49:26 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (McCain or Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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