The American billionaire returns the Heliodorus Stele and other relics in a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to avoid prosecution.
Michael Steinhardt, one of the Israel Museum’s largest patrons, has surrendered a trove of artifacts valued at approximately $70 million, including the famous 2,200-year-old Greek text, the Heliodorus Stele. The piece was originally donated to the museum in 2007 after Steinhardt purchased it, but its authenticity was called into question when experts discovered that it was part of a larger collection of fragments unearthed near Jerusalem.
In November, Steinhardt agreed to return the artifact, along with 179 other items he had acquired over the years, as part of a settlement with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. This deal allows him to avoid criminal prosecution for possession of stolen goods. The restitution also included eight Neolithic masks that Steinhardt had loaned to the Israel Museum for an exhibition in 2014, with two of these masks still on display in the museum.