The Karun Treasure - Lydian Hoard

The Karun Treasure is a collection of 363 Lydian artifacts dating from the 7th century BC and originating from Uşak Province in western Turkey. The collection was smuggled outside Turkey and bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1967-68, at a cost of $1.2m.

The collection is also known as the Lydian Hoard. It is now exhibited in the Uşak Museum of Archaeology.

A long legal battle ensued. The hoard made news again in May 2006 when a golden hippocamp was found to have been switched with a fake.

The rich grave goods came from a high status female burial. Locals in Uşak believe that the treasure is cursed and that it brings misfortune and death. Rumor had all seven men involved in the 1965 illegal digs of the burial mounds dying violent and painful deaths.