Since 1989 it has been precise heritage of the Archaeological Museum of the German University of Münsterwhich also has a large collection of archaeological finds, among them many vases from Lower Italy.

The conditions are ripe and its precious antiquity 2nd AD centuryh head of a Roman returns to her home country, in Thessaloniki, according to a voria.gr report. And it finds its place there, along with other Roman antiquities, in the showcases of the city’s Archaeological Museum.

The delivery/receipt ceremony of the marble male head will take place at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki on Tuesday, November 19, at 1 p.m., in the presence of the Minister of Culture Linas Mendoni and the great find will be delivered by the director of the Archaeological Museum of the University of Münster himself and a professor of Classical Archeology at the same university, Achim Lichtenberger.

Voria information state that the marble head, which is part of a bas-relief funerary monument in Thessaloniki, came into the possession of the Archaeological Museum of Münster in 1989, as a bequest from the couple Ruth and Ewald Strötgen from Essen.
More information about how a piece of Roman antiquity from Thessaloniki came into their hands, has not been made known, nor when, nor why they decided to donate it to the Museum of the German university.

Achim Lichtenberger and his team, who studied it systematically, concluded after the relevant archeometric analysis that the Roman head is crafted from the snow-white Thassos marbleprobably coming from the ancient quarry in Porto Vathi/Saliara.

The height of the head is 27 cm and a large part of the nose, as well as the mustache, are broken, while there are bumps on the hair, on the right ear – the left one is missing – and on the right side of the face. The curls of the head are straight and the bottom part is cut off, so that an arched contour is created in the front view.

From the study of the find, the construction material and especially from the headdress with curls in the shape of a crescent, Professor Lichtenberger concludes that dates back to the 2nd AD century and specifically in the time of the emperor Trajan (98-117 AD), which is also confirmed by recent (2023) analyzes of laboratory of Democritus in Athens. He compares it with other portraits that have been found in Macedonian land and especially around Thessaloniki and estimates that it comes from the necropolis of the city.

The head represents a mortal Roman and was part of a funerary relief. He was probably a wealthy man from the elite of Thessaloniki, who when he passed away his relatives wanted to keep his memory alive. That is why they represented his portrait, placing the marble relief on the tomb, which must have been an elaborate construction.

The when and how he left Thessaloniki it may never be known, however it is not excluded that it is part of a network of illegal export of antiquities from Greece.

The University of Münster maintains a very important seat of classical studies, particularly in the field of Archeology and has developed close relations with the A.P.Th.with which student exchanges are also made through the Erasmus program.

At the same time, as a university institution, it maintains an archaeological museum rich in findings from all historical periods, enabling students of all levels, as well as researchers, to study and present them.

For this reason, in the event for the repatriation of the Roman head of the 2nd AD. century that will take place in Thessaloniki, the rectors of both universities have been invited.