A French treasure hunter allegedly amassed more than 27,000 artifacts, ranging from bronze-age bracelets to an extremely rare Roman dodecahedron, looting archeological sites, according to new reports.
Authorities seized the 27,400 objects after a one-year investigation by French customs, Belgian authorities and the French ministry of culture, the Agence France-Presse reported.
He told authorities he was collecting the objects using metal detectors and his own archaeological knowledge.
But red flags emerged last year, when the man, identified only as Patrice T, claimed to have unearthed 14,154 Roman coins in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium, according to The Guardian.
He said he was using a metal detector when he found the relics at two places near Gingelom, a Flemish city 40 miles east of Brussels. reported the newspaper.
Metal detectors are only allowed in scientific research in France, but in Flanders they can be used for personal searches, according to the report. Thus, the coins were legally declared the property of Patrice, according to the newspaper.
However, Patrice’s story began to unfold when the Belgian Real Estate Agency reported French customs that it seemed unlikely that such a major discovery could appear at the site, according to the media.
French officers stormed the man’s house, finding the great memory of items, including bracelets and necklaces from the Bronze and Iron Ages, and an empty copper copper dodecahedron of which only a hundred known copies.
The French customs service confirmed that the treasure hunter actually accumulated the transport through the “looting of various places in France.”
The case was taken to the judiciary, with possible sanctions, including massive fines and imprisonment.
Bruno Le Maire, France’s economy minister, described the findings as an “invaluable archaeological treasure”.
“This is a clear message to those who, for the benefit and selfish pleasure of a few, rob us of our common heritage and erase entire strips of our history,” Le Maire said in a statement.
With publishing cables