Posted on 02/22/2014 10:07:09 AM PST by nickcarraway
German archaeologists have recovered a find of over a million euros worth of Roman gold and silver jewellery from an amateur treasure hunter who dug it up illegally in a forest.
The unnamed treasure seeker came across the buried treasure, estimated to be worth more than €1 million, while searching a wooded area in southern Rhineland-Palatinate with a metal detector.
The trove includes a number of leaf-shaped solid gold brooches which are thought to have formed part of the decorations from a coat of high office which once belonged a very important Roman ruler. They date from the late antiquity period - around the time of the fall of the Roman Empire.
Experts say the find could be the largest and most magnificent collection of late antiquity pieces ever found in Germany. It also includes a solid silver bowl set with gold and stones and a set of gold and silver plated statuettes which formed part of a military commander's portable chair.
CLICK HERE to see the Roman treasures
"The [original] owner lived well," said chief archaeologist Axel von Berg as he presented the find to press on Tuesday evening.
The treasure hunter initially kept his discovery secret and is thought to have sold off part of it on the black market, but it was seized by the authorities when it came to their attention.
"The looter rendered up [the pieces] himself - but only under pressure from investigators," said Ulrich Himmelmann, head of the Speyer branch of the state archaeology authority.
Prosecutors in the west German state are now investigating the case and will attempt to uncover any further missing pieces, said von Berg, without elaborating further on the circumstances or charges against the finder.
Experts say the treasure, some of which appears Eastern European in style, was buried around 1,500 years ago about the time when Germanic Teutons were plundering and pillaging their way through the crumbling Roman empire.
In the chaos, the so-called barbarians were looting valuables from Romans and each other. Either a Roman ruler buried the treasure as they fled the area or it was hidden by a barbarian and never recovered.
Archaeologists say the thousands of amateur treasure hunters armed with metal detectors are a nuisance and pose a serious danger to historical artifacts.
They often damage or destroy pieces when they dig them up and then attempt to sell them off on the black market and destroy the dig site.
In this case, a silver folding chair was "brutally torn out of the earth and destroyed," said von Berg. The find will soon appear on display to the public in a special exhibition, said Rhineland- Palatinate Culture Minister Doris Ahnen.
In Rhineland-Palatinate searching with a metal detector is a minor offence, but taking the find is a criminal matter under property laws. Not telling authorities about the find can lead to a fraud prosecution, while selling it on can end in a charge for dealing in stolen goods.
Did a hole in your own backyard and tell them you found it there.
about $1.5 Million
Not lightly do the leaves of Lorien fall.
That doesn't seem like it would matter either. It's a shame, but the only way to have kept it would be to melt it.
A prepper 1,500 years ago hid his gold in the ground. What goes ‘round...
It’s not illegal to search with a metal detector, but it’s against the law to find something with it.
I understand now.
No picking up lost change I guess.
WOW! I’d have to think long and hard before I turned that in!
“”The looter rendered up [the pieces] himself”
Translation
“The non-degreed, amateur rendered up [the pieces] himself”
Apparently you can get a ticket for even using a metal detector. Not any more illegal to find something, but illegal to take it away.
"Archaeologists say the thousands of amateur treasure hunters armed with metal detectors are a nuisance and pose a serious danger to historical artifacts"....Archaeologists are unhappy...BOO HOO......they won't dig but get mad if someone does...
In Germany, It is illegal to find an archaeologist by using a mental detector.
Btt
Exactly. They should go lightly and compensate him more than the value in bullion lest other discoveries get melted without ever hearing of them.
Over there they still claim to own everything, even if buried in your backyard.
Stolen from whom?
Oh, I see: The treasure hunter initially kept his discovery secret and is thought to have sold off part of it on the black market, but it was seized by the authorities when it came to their attention.. Everything belongs to the "authorities" even if they had nothing to do with finding it (or inventing it, or building it, or operating it...)
“Archaeologists say the thousands of amateur treasure hunters armed with metal detectors are a nuisance and pose a serious danger to historical artifacts. “
In their mind its better that they remain buried forever, and are probably never discovered. Petty jealousy is all it is.
Whatever agency this is, it likely has the same tread as our IRS. I'd try and dispose of it anonymously, even though that is largely impossible. You would have to destroy it (the art)to keep it (the gold). Lousy position to find yourself.
Europe doesn’t quite have the private property rights of America.
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