The pieces date back to the Roman era, and are among the ruins of the city of Palmyra, which was destroyed in the ten-year conflict in Syria.
Muhammad Nazir Awad, Director General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria, said at a handover ceremony held by the Lebanese National Museum in Beirut that the limestone statues and carved funerary stones dating back to the second and third centuries AD, were returned at the initiative of a Lebanese collector.
Awad added that the owner of the initiative, Jawad Adra, bought the pieces from European auction houses before the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011, describing his actions as a “dignified initiative.”
The Syrian official added that the pieces that were on display at the Nabu Museum in northern Lebanon belong to their “original homeland”.
During the Syrian conflict, Palmyra, one of the most important cultural centers in the ancient world, fell under the control of ISIS, which blew up some of its main landmarks including the Arc de Triomphe.
The Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdel Karim, said that talks are underway to arrange the return of other artifacts from the National Museum in Beirut to Syria.
.