The Cultural Heritage and Antiquities section of the Property Rights Protection, Cultural Heritage and Environment sub-directorate has located and seized 38 single “treasure” coins and 9 ancient objects, preventing a sale meeting that was planned on a plot of land near a country road in the Evia area.
Specifically, according to the police, the above service planned and implemented an operation the day before yesterday, after a thorough investigation and utilization of relevant information, in the context of which a 44-year-old man from Albania was identified and arrested, in whose car 38 coins and an ancient children’s toy were found. which were collected by a police team.
A subsequent search of a fenced plot of land in the same area, which was used by the 44-year-old, found an additional 8 ancient objects in makeshift storage areas.
The ancient objects were examined by an archaeologist from the Ephorate of Antiquities of Evia, who opined that they are included in the protection of cultural heritage and constitute objects of significant historical and archaeological value.
As pointed out by the archaeologist, the 38 coins are of the same time period, dating between 320 to 280 BC. and constitute a single “treasure”, in the sense that they come from the same archaeological site.
The antiquities will be delivered for safekeeping and final assessment to the New Archaeological Museum of Chalkida “Arethousa”.
The seized evidence is described in detail below:
- six silver Athenian tetradrachms, depicting on the obverse a helmeted head of Athena right, on the reverse a glaucous marching right and the inscription “ATHE”
- ten silver quatrefoils of the city of Istiaia, depicting on the obverse the head of the nymph Istiaia to the right, on the reverse the same nymph in full body, seated on the prow of a ship and the inscription “ISTIAION”
- posthumous silver tetradrachm in the name of ALEXANDER III THE GREAT, depicting on the obverse a head of Alexander carrying the lion of Heracles to the right and on the reverse Jupiter seated to the left holding a scepter and an eagle and an inscription of Alexander and the letter L and cross,
- twenty-one posthumous silver drachmas in the name of ALEXANDER III THE GREAT, depicting on the obverse a head of Alexander carrying the lion of Heracles to the right and on the reverse Jupiter seated to the left holding a scepter and an eagle and an inscription of Alexander and on the exergue various letters or symbols
- clay bird, possibly a child’s toy from an ancient burial
- two ancient bronze rings, either for rings, or for fastening bostrichs
- two bronze forks, one of which is broken in two
- two brass plates twisted into a circle of cylindrical cross-section
- trunk of an ancient statue or upper part of a column, missing the head or upper part, as well as the lower part, may represent a bird holding an octopus in its beak
- iron handbook of more recent times from 1500 AD. and after.
The rings, prongs and plates, and the clay bird, are believed to be offerings from a female burial.
The 44-year-old’s car was confiscated as a means of storing and transporting antiquities.
The 44-year-old, with the file filed for violation of the legislation for the protection of antiquities and cultural heritage in general, was taken to the prosecutor of Plimmeliodiki Chalkida.
Source: RES-MPE
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