It was made of fine-grained pentelitic marble. It has a height of 88 centimeters and a width of 35 to 37. Its body is dominated by a bas-relief bathing vessel, which depicts male and female figures, and under its pediment is engraved the name: “Eprikratis”. .

In the meantime, its features reveal the work of an Attic workshop from the 4th century BC. century, the tombstone, donated yesterday in its new home, the Epigraphic Museum, by Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, has not been available to us for careful study until now: a year ago it was going to be auctioned at Christie’s, but it was discovered by the Office of Documentation and the Protection of Cultural Property, recognized as a product of illicit trafficking and, finally, on December 16, repatriated.

“Many people might say: it returns a column. Is it so important? Yes, it is absolutely important to return a stele, a fragment, a collection, a golden wreath, shells that are not diagnosed but proven to come from Greek soil,” Ms. Mendoni said at yesterday’s presentation, emphasizing that every return of cultural property is treated ad hoc: “In this particular case, there was documentary material, so the tombstone could be returned exactly one year later. Other claims often do not have a happy ending because there are no necessary elements to document the origin and the wrongful act as such,” the minister said.

Earlier, Vasso Papageorgiou, head of the Department of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property, described the process required to return the stele to Greece. It was initially identified by an Authority archaeologist in Christie’s e-catalogue (with a starting price of GB£60,000–80,000) and a subsequent check showed that it had been sold illegally. It was later identified with an object that appears in three photographs in the archives of Gianfranco Bekina, who was convicted of stealing antiquities, and subsequently the help of the Athens Interpol, the Athens prosecutor’s office and the London police was also requested. Finally, after many months of negotiations between Christie’s (which represented the alleged owners of the column) and the police liaison of the Greek Embassy in London, Elizabeth Tufa, the owners of the Epikratis column voluntarily surrendered it. “To achieve a positive result, each requirement requires united efforts and cooperation,” Ms. Papageorgiou stressed. In response to a question about a recent publication that states that two figurines from the Stern collection appear in the Bekina archive, Ms. Mendoni noted that the publication does not add anything new to our knowledge of the collection, but invites anyone who has additional materials, perform in Justice.

Finally, in the morning, the Minister opened the former children’s camp in Mati, where during the work on the creation of a recreation area, archaeological finds were discovered, possibly from the time of the Roman Empire, which will be part of the territory under construction.