Priceless non secular relics on show at museum in Cyprus after being stolen 50 years in the past

The Byzantine Museum in Nicosia, Cyprus, has opened a brand new exhibit spotlighting early Christian relics with a definite historical past.

Most of the artifacts had been as soon as stolen by looters and trafficked on the black market after a Turkish invasion in 1974, Reuters reported.

Mosaics, icons and wall frescoes had been recovered after being stolen from church buildings north of the island. 

MYSTERIOUS PYRAMID, ANCIENT BRONZE COINS DISCOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

The museum continues to be trying to find lots of the stolen gadgets, in response to the museum’s director, Ioannis Eliades, Ph.D., Reuters reported. 

“The looting, the destruction was on a great scale… We have calculated that more than 20,000 icons have been stolen and disappeared from the churches,” stated Eliades.

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Cyprus gained independence from British rule in 1960, however Greek-Turkish Cypriot tensions led to violence, with Turkey intervening in 1974 after a Greek-backed coup and seizing over a 3rd of the island, in response to the CIA World Factbook.

The museum continues to be trying to find lots of the stolen gadgets, in response to museum director Ioannis Eliades, Reuters reported.  (REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou)

The Turkish-held north declared itself impartial in 1983 however is just acknowledged by Turkey.

Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, however EU legal guidelines apply solely in government-controlled areas, the factbook notes. 

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Mosaics from the early sixth century AD from the Church of Panagia Kanakaria at Lythrangomi are featured and are generally known as uncommon by archaeologists, surviving when Byzantine emperors banned using non secular photographs. 

“The looting, the destruction was on a great scale… We have calculated that more than 20,000 icons have been stolen and disappeared from the churches,” stated the museum’s director.  (REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou)

An outline of Christ, the Virgin Mary, archangels and apostles was chopped into items and offered on the black market within the late Nineteen Seventies.

The vast majority of these items had been later found in non-public collections acquired by Cyprus officers after litigation. 

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“We want the new generation to understand what happened on our island, and why it is important to safeguard even the smallest piece which we can bring [home],” added Eliades.

Reuters contributed to this report.