ANKARA

Türkiye on Friday got back an 1800-year-old tomb stele from Italy that was smuggled from the ancient city of Zeugma in southeastern Gaziantep province.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said one of the historical heritage was brought back to Türkiye.

"Today, I am happy to be returning another artifact of origin to this ancient city. Our fight against historical artifact smuggling will continue with all our stakeholders,” Ersoy said on Twitter.

Ersoy also shared a photograph showing the historical grave stele.

The ministry reported that the stele, which carries important scientific data, was delivered to the Turkish Embassy in Rome.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar