At its sixteenth session (September 2010), this Committee made a recommendation about the case of Boğazköy Sphinx which was excavated at Boğazköy in Turkey and is currently at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin (Germany). The case was presented to the Committee in 1987 and led to the adoption of a new recommendation (Recommendation No.2) which invites both Parties to hold comprehensive bilateral negotiations as soon as possible with a view to bringing this issue to a mutually acceptable solution.  

At the beginning of May, the Secretariat was informed that the Parties succeeded to reach an agreement on the case of the Sphinx. The Turkish and German experts met in Ankara on 18 April and in Berlin on 13 May 2011. A memorandum of understanding was signed, ensuring that the Boğazköy Sphinx will arrive in Turkey before 28 November 2011. (NB: This date is the 25th anniversary of the inscription of Boğazköy as `Hattusha the Hittite Capital` on the World Heritage List).  The technical experts planned to meet before 31 May 2011 in order to begin their work on the technical aspects of the relocation of the Sphinx.