Gaziantep: Trkiye has successfully reunited a long-missing panel from the second and third centuries A.D. with its famous Gypsy Girl Mosaic at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, announced the country's culture minister on Tuesday. According to Anadolu Agency, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the culture minister, spoke at a handover ceremony, revealing that the mosaic, one of Trkiye's most recognized cultural icons, was fragmented during illegal excavations in the 1960s, with several panels smuggled out of the country. In 2018, 12 panels were repatriated and reassembled with the artifact at the museum. "Today, we are pleased to add the 13th panel, dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., to the museum's collection," Ersoy stated. Research led by Camila Felag from France's Grenoble Alpes University, along with scientific assessments by Zeugma excavation director Kutalmis Gorkay, confirmed the panel's original connection to the mosaic. Further efforts by Turkish authorities to retrieve the piece began once it resurfaced at an international auction, leading to its eventual return to Trkiye after an investigation by the US Homeland Security Investigations unit. Ersoy emphasized the importance of coordinated scientific research, legal measures, and international collaboration in combating cultural property trafficking. He highlighted the significance of the panel as a critical addition to one of the world's largest mosaic museums, enhancing the scientific understanding and reassessment of the Zeugma mosaics within their original context. Ersoy expressed that restoring missing pieces not only completes the mosaic but also restores a historical memory and cultural heritage. Additionally, Ersoy mentioned the 2021 memorandum of understanding between Trkiye and the US aimed at curbing illicit cultural property trafficking, which has been renewed for another five years. He noted that since 2002, Trkiye has reclaimed 13,454 cultural artifacts, including 9,139 over the past eight years, and committed to continuing efforts to recover all illegally exported cultural objects.