US Embassy returns two stolen struts of archaeological importance to Nepal

July 12, Kathmandu: Two struts of historical and archaeological significance that were stolen from Hyumat Tole near Teku in the capital Kathmandu – and taken to the United States – have been returned to Nepal and handed over to the Department of Archeology.

 The Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Kathmandu, Abigail Aronson, handed over two struts each measuring 135 cm long and 21 cm wide to the Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Maheshwar Neupane, at a function organized at the Department of Archeology on Tuesday.

The two struts from the 13th and 14th centuries that were built to support one of the roofs of the two-storied Narayan Temple in Hyumat Tol in Kathmandu Metropolitan City-12 were stolen in the 1980s.

The struts known as Tudals in Newa: language were collected by an independent American art collector.  The art collector not only returned the struts to the Nepali Consulate General in New York but also covered the costs of delivering them back to Nepal.