[NYer]

Yes, I know it is nice for posterity and all, but WHOSE land is it? Apparently NOT his...

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 ;-)

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks NYer. There would be much more Etruscan stuff in museums today, but the [characterization deleted] who had the concession (I think he was French) found so much nice pottery and whatnot that he worried that he wouldn't make any money (drug on the market), so he ordered a lot of it smashed to bits. That's the kind of thing that really chaps my ass.

That said, I'm not a big fan of Italian litigation in other areas -- IMHO, plaintiff governments need to show proof of provenance (that is, no more of this, "we believe this was dug up not long ago, even though we have no eyewitnesses or anything else") to file a claim under the various agreements, treaties, and statutes.