In 1939 a Swedish archaeological expedition in Cyprus led to the discovery of an impressive site in the village of Agia Eirini. The expeditionary team discovered a well-preserved army of 2000 terracotta figurines and statues arranged in a ceremonial way. The finds were dated to be from the Archaic period (8th-6th century BC).

Despite this find being one of the most remarkable discoveries about the history of our island, the then British colonial authorities of the island struck a deal with the Swedish archaeologists without consulting the Cypriot people to whom this cultural treasure belongs to. The Swedish team would take 1500 of the figurines and statues as well as thousands of other relevant pieces from the site, leaving behind merely 1/4 of the original collection. As a result - to this day - those 1500 figurines and other important treasures from Agia Eirini are located in the Stockholm Medelhavsmuseet, with numerous other Cypriot treasures. The rest of the finds are in the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia.

The collection at the Stockholm Medelhavsmuseet.

The collection at the Cyprus Museum.

It is a shame and a travesty that such an immensely important archaeological treasure from the history of Cyprus has been essentially taken away from the island and its people. The impressive army has been unceremoniously split, losing much of its significance and grandeur. More importantly, it was split unevenly to benefit those who wanted to decorate their museums with the cultural heritage of others.

As Cypriots we have been sleeping on this issue for far too long. Our politicians and diplomats have done little to nothing to act, but it's time to pressure them into doing so. We need to get rid of this colonial remnant from a time when Cypriots had little voice in what happened to their own historical treasures. For this reason we must show those in power that we are interested and demand for this historical injustice to be amended.

At the same time, we extend this plea to anyone else in the international community who cares about the integrity of this archaeological piece, and who also wants justice for Cypriot history and people. We especially call towards the people of Sweden who can leverage their own politicians to do right by their fellow EU partners from Cyprus and restore the full Cypriot terracotta army on its native land. With the Cyprus Museum having a massive multi-million euro renovation under way, it will have ample space and means to adequately host the entire collection, and the repatriation of 3/4 of the samples will mark a great new beginning.