Italy's Arma dei Carabinieri seized 79 archaeological goods last year.Courtesy Interpol
Posted on 04/06/2022 8:45:04 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The 2021 project, reports Sarah Cascone for Artnet News, was a joint effort between Interpol, Europol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), and was led by the Spanish authorities.
Officials recovered stolen statuettes, musical instruments, archaeological finds, pieces of pottery, paintings, furniture and more, according to the statement.
Amateur metal detecting is a popular—and profitable—pastime for many Europeans in recent years, but some have employed the hobby illegally. Seven European countries confiscated a combined total of 90 metal detectors used for illicit looting at archaeological sites, per the Guardian.
Highlights of the past four months include the recovery of a trove of golden coins that date to the ancient Roman Empire, per the statement. Spanish officers discovered the coins at a well-known auction house in Madrid, and later identified which archaeological site the coins had been looted from. Altogether, the coins could have been sold for an estimated half a million euros (about $550,000) on the black market, authorities note in the statement.
French Customs officers also seized 4,231 archaeological objects—including bells, buckles, rings and pieces of pottery—that had been looted by a single individual from archaeology sites. And United States Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a shipment with 13 ancient Mexican artifacts, some dating to the Aztec period, including one skull and two adzes or chopping axes.
(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmag.com ...
Italy's Arma dei Carabinieri seized 79 archaeological goods last year.Courtesy Interpol
I had to cut out some interesting parts, if you get a chance, read the rest.
Metal detecting is a great hobby.
Straight out of ESO.
It’s great as long as it’s not used for theft. There seems to be a number of people on FR who talk about stealing stuff from property owners or public lands.
It’s all fun and games until you find unexploded ordnance.
Metal detecting?
Don’t have long to wait to find out once the digging starts though.
It’s also a hobby for people with strong ethics. Treasure hunting can make some people do crazy, illegal and dangerous stuff, but it’s definitely a hobby for adventurers, history buffs and people that like to get outdoors. A detectorist can find treasure that they can keep and sell, but when laws are broken, such as they have in Europe regarding cultural relics, the finder is probably tempted to skirt those laws and try to collect cash if the government doesn’t provide cash incentives to turn in such items to their country’s cultural ministry. I understand that the United Kingdom has what seems to be pretty fair laws around this and will pay cash for items deemed cultural relics. Just recently there was a rare Roman coin found that was deemed a legal find and the owner sold it at. Private sale for over 500,000 British pounds. The people that are going out to protected cultural sites in clear criminal attempts at stealing hidden treasures are not the people we want to associate with.
Governments own history, ask the DNC.
I would argue that the application of the lost treasure on ships might have application in court as to what constitues the current government’s right to claim property simply because of its age. Spanish ships that sunk are usually claimed by the finder and the closest nation’s territorial waters.
Iceberg, tip, you know the rest...................
Finders, keepers...
S,S,S...Shovel, Shut up, Sell
Yeah, it can sure ruin a day at the beach:
Looters and poachers—anywhere, should be summarily executed.
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