Italy Returns Ancient Stele, Illegally Exported, to Türkiye

This picture made available by the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage on Friday, April 28, 2023, shows a funerary stele, conventionally referred to as "Bride of the Desert" and illegally excavated in the ancient Roman archaeological site of Zeugma in eastern Türkiye. (Carabinieri via AP)
This picture made available by the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage on Friday, April 28, 2023, shows a funerary stele, conventionally referred to as "Bride of the Desert" and illegally excavated in the ancient Roman archaeological site of Zeugma in eastern Türkiye. (Carabinieri via AP)
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Italy Returns Ancient Stele, Illegally Exported, to Türkiye

This picture made available by the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage on Friday, April 28, 2023, shows a funerary stele, conventionally referred to as "Bride of the Desert" and illegally excavated in the ancient Roman archaeological site of Zeugma in eastern Türkiye. (Carabinieri via AP)
This picture made available by the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage on Friday, April 28, 2023, shows a funerary stele, conventionally referred to as "Bride of the Desert" and illegally excavated in the ancient Roman archaeological site of Zeugma in eastern Türkiye. (Carabinieri via AP)

Italy on Friday returned to Turkish authorities a funerary stele, dating from the second century and carrying a loving inscription to the dead woman's spouse, after investigation determined that it was illegally excavated from southeastern Türkiye.

Italy’s specialized Carabinieri paramilitary police art squad said it had determined after extensive investigation that the object was illegally exported, eventually winding up in a private home in Florence, Italy, after being purchased in France.

The art squad for decades has been in the vanguard of efforts to ensure that artistic and archaeological works are returned to their rightful country of provenance if exported without permission.

Its efforts have resulted in hundreds of artworks and artifacts being returned to Italy from prestigious museums and from private collectors worldwide.

The stone work depicts a noblewoman, wearing a veil and a tunic. Her right hand is placed on her left breast. Under the bust refiguring the deceased is an inscription in ancient Greek reading, “Satornila, the wife who loves her husband, farewell!”

The stele was illegally excavated near the ancient city of Zeugma, in what is near Gaziantep, in present-day southeastern Türkiye, the police said. It dates from the mid-to-late second century, the Carabinieri said.

Zeuguma, on the Euphrates River, was first an ancient Greek settlement and later became part of the Roman Empire. It was founded around 300 B.C. by a general of Alexander the Great.

The stele was handed over to the Turkish ambassador to Italy for return to Türkiye.



Mexico Awaits New Response from Google on Dispute Over Gulf of Mexico Name Before Filing Lawsuit 

The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Mexico Awaits New Response from Google on Dispute Over Gulf of Mexico Name Before Filing Lawsuit 

The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)

Mexico said Monday it is awaiting a new response from Google to its request that the tech company fully restore the name “Gulf of Mexico” to its Google Maps service before filing a lawsuit.

President Claudia Sheinbaum shared a letter addressed to her government from Cris Turner, Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy. It says that Google will not change the policy it outlined after US President Donald Trump declared the body of water the Gulf of America.

“We will wait for Google’s response and if not, we will proceed to court,” Sheinbaum said Monday during a morning press briefing.

As it stands, the gulf appears in Google Maps as “Gulf of America” within the United States, as “Gulf of Mexico” within Mexico and “Gulf of Mexico” (Gulf of America) elsewhere. Turner in his letter said the company was using “Gulf of America” to follow “longstanding maps policies impartially and consistently across all regions” and that the company was willing to meet in person with the Mexican government.

“While international treaties and conventions are not intended to regulate how private mapping providers represent geographic features, it is our consistent policy to consult multiple authoritative sources to provide the most up to date and accurate representation of the world,” he wrote.

Mexico has argued that the mapping policy violates Mexican sovereignty because the US only has jurisdiction over around 46% of the Gulf. The rest is controlled by Mexico, which controls 49% and Cuba, which controls around 5%. The name “Gulf of Mexico” dates back to 1607 and is recognized by the United Nations.

In response to Google's letter, Mexican authorities said they would take legal action, writing that “under no circumstance will Mexico accept the renaming of a geographic zone within its own territory and under its jurisdiction.”

The renaming of the body of water by Trump has flared tensions between Mexico and the US at a pivotal time for the neighboring allies.

Sheinbaum has had to walk a fine line with Trump amid threats of tariffs and Mexico and other Latin American countries have braced themselves for promised mass deportations, the brunt of which has still not been felt.

Along with the legal threat to Google, the Mexican president also announced Monday that Mexico and the US would hold high-level meetings this week on trade and security in an effort to maintain a “long-term plan of collaboration” between the two countries.

It's the latest round of talks between the two countries in which Mexico hopes to hold off a larger geopolitical crisis.