German police hand over antiquities to Vietnam

Berlin police said the objects consist of 10 stone tools and eight bronze tools. Archaeologists from many in Berlin examined these objects and found they date back to between the second and the seventh centuries BC and could belong to tombs in the third century BC.

Per the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, because the Vietnamese entrepreneur failed to prove the origin and ownership of the items, the antiques have to be returned to Vietnam.

Receiving the objects, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Doan Xuan Hung thanked agencies of Berlin and the German Foreign Office for returning the antiquities to Vietnam. He added the items will be brought to Vietnam for research and exhibition purposes.

He hailed Germany as a member seriously implementing the UNESCO convention, appreciating its assistance for Vietnam in preserving cultural relics, especially in the former imperial capital of Hue.

The diplomat said the stealing of antiquities in Vietnam has been better controlled in recent years but is not completely eliminated. Therefore, the country wants to continue receiving support from Germany in the future.