The United States returned a missing piece of the famed "Gypsy Girl" mosaic to Turkey, Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced in Monday post on X/Twitter.
“We have successfully brought back to our country from the United States another missing piece of the ‘Gypsy Girl’ mosaic, the iconic symbol of Zeugma, the pride of Gaziantep,” he wrote.
Ersoy added that the return of the panel marks the 13th section of the mosaic to be recovered by Turkey.
“We will continue to track the traces of our cultural assets wherever they may be in the world and to protect our civilizational heritage,” he concluded.
What is the 'Gypsy Girl' mosaic?
The mosaic was first discovered nearly 30 years ago by Turkish archaeologists during excavations in the ancient city of Zeugma, founded by one of Alexander the Great's generals, near the modern city of Gaziantep.
It depicts a woman with “frizzy hair tied back with a scarf, a narrow forehead, high cheekbones, and a round face,” according to the museum’s website. The mosaic’s name was given due to the earrings the figure wears, though she is thought to be one of Dionysus’s (Greek god of wine) maenads.
Upon discovery, archaeologists realized that several mosaic pieces that had bordered the “Gypsy Girl” were missing and later learned they had been illegally excavated and smuggled out of the country in the 1960s.
The pieces had been bought by Bowling Green State University in Ohio, United States, which displayed them until 2012, before they were eventually returned to Turkey in 2018.
Mosaic bearing similarities to ‘Gypsy Girl’ found in northern Turkey
In early May, Turkish media reported that a rare Roman-era mosaic bearing the ancient Greek word for “luxury” had been uncovered in northern Turkey, during excavations in Tokat’s Zile district.
Dating to the second century CE, researchers believe that it may have once decorated the floor of an important Roman structure, according to Turkish daily newspaper Daily Sabah, drawing similarities to the famed “Gypsy Girl” mosaic.
“The mosaics, first uncovered in 2025 through an illegal excavation in Zile, were subsequently brought to light during rescue excavations conducted by experts from the Tokat Archaeology Museum,” said Dr. Alper Yilmaz of Ondokuz Mayis University, cited by Hurriyet Daily News. "When we evaluate them within their architectural context, it is clear that they were part of an important structure in Roman social life.”
Yilmaz noted the stylistic similarities to existing mosaics currently housed at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, such as the one depicted the "Gypsy Girl."
“We also observe that both opus vermiculatum and opus tessellatum techniques were used together, creating a rich, multicolored composition,” Hurriyet quoted Yilmaz as saying, adding that the female figure depicted alongside the Greek phrase may symbolize abundance, prosperity, and luxury.
“When evaluated together with the structure, it becomes evident that a luxurious lifestyle is reflected in these mosaics,” he said, “and in this sense, they also serve as a form of visual expression or even propaganda.”
Reuters contributed to this report.