Posted on 12/17/2008 3:47:51 PM PST by decimon
Riccardo De Luca / AP Ancient vases and cups recovered by Italian authorities are shown on Wednesday.
ROME - A farmer working his land south of Rome dug up hundreds of artifacts from a 2,600-year-old sanctuary, but ran afoul of police when he tried to sell the ancient hoard, officials said Wednesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Pottery ping.
|
|||
Gods |
Thanks decimon. |
||
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
but ran afoul of police when he tried to sell the ancient hoard
Yes, I know it is nice for posterity and all, but WHOSE land is it? Apparently NOT his...
Just the topsoil, I guess.
Italy, like many countries with an ancient culture, is filled with treasure troves of buried artifacts. A good friend of mine encountered a similar situation 40 years ago when he stumbled upon an Etruscan burial vault. One of his friends tried to sell the items but was caught. Italian law mandates that any ancient artefacts be reported to the Belle Arte. The big problem occurs when the artefacts are found inside one's home ;-)
An Italian police officer stands by ancient artifacts recovered by authorities in separate operations Wednesday in Rome. In the foreground is a mosaic from a Roman catacomb, which was seized from a suspect's home.
I recall another incident my friend related. He and some friends found an open window in the 500+ y/o town Church and snuck inside late at night. They groped their way downstairs to what was apparently a burial vault. Turning on their flashlights, they were surprised to see corpses, fully vested and seated in chairs. Naturally they boasted of the discovery to friends which infuriated the priest. He feared the Belle Arte would come and take hold of the Church. Here's a picture of the Church.
CHIESA DI SANTA MARIA DELLE ROSE
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.