Ancient statues returned to Albania

ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Two ancient marble statues of Artemis and Apollo stolen from Albania in the '90s were officially returned in an Athens ceremony Thursday.

They are to be moved to their natural environment in Butrint in southern Albania next week, the Athens News Agency said.

The marble statues were found by Greek authorities in 1997 in the hands of two private owners in Koropi, Attica. They were then handed over the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, which traced their origins to the artifacts stolen from Butrint.

The two statues both date to the second century B.C. when Butrint was a Greek colony known as Bouthroton -- which is still the Greek name for the southern Albanian town.