French customs seize 'priceless haul' of
Roman coins and artefacts
man claimed he 'found in garden'
https://news.yahoo.com/french-customs-seize-priceless-haul-142002996.htmlFrench customs officials say they have seized a "priceless" haul of over 27,000 archaeological artefacts after investigating a
man’s claims he
had stumbled across half of them in
his back garden during a clean-up.
In reality, the hoarder
had secretly amassed
his illicit treasure – ranging from Bronze bracelets to Iron Age torques and
Roman coins – in secret searches throughout eastern
France.
Belgian authorities’ suspicions were initially aroused in 2019 when he told authorities he
had found 14,154
Roman coins by chance while cleaning up an orchard he
had recently bought. Under Belgian law, owners who make such chance finds are entitled to at least
part of them.
.......She said she instantly recognised some silver coins as from the era of
Roman general
Mark Antony, who was a key ally of Emperor
Julius Caesar and played a pivotal role in the growth of the
Roman Empire as it moved from republic to autocracy.
However, upon inspection of the ground, she concluded it was “impossible” that this was a
Roman site given the “context
,.....She alerted
French customs, which later confirmed that the coins
had actually been collected during "the looting of various sites in
France” – mainly in the eastern Grand Est region.
The case has now been handed to the judiciary, with the
man risking a large
fine and even a prison term.
The whole article is worth reading.... extraordinary
