A Cypriot artefact dating back to around 600 BC has been returned to Cyprus on Monday following a year-long effort involving authorities in Cyprus and France.

The antiquities department announced that the artefact was officially handed over to the Cypriot embassy in Paris last week, after being identified in an online auction in France in May last year.

This return resulted from coordinated efforts by the antiquities department, the police, Interpol, and the French culture ministry, with the artefact’s owner ultimately consenting to its return to Cyprus.

The artefact is a Cypro-Archaic four-horse chariot model featuring a warrior with a shield and a charioteer, both in conical helmets.

These models were often used as votive offerings, typically linked to sanctuaries and burial sites.