Israeli Investigators Seize Ancient Coins Looted From Archaeological Sites | Smart News

Israeli authorities have recovered hundreds of looted parts hidden in a house in Bnei Brak, just east of Tel Aviv.

As Rossella Tercatin reports for the Jerusalem Post, the Israel Antiquities Authority‘s (AAI) Theft prevention unit discovered the objects while investigating an individual suspected of trafficking in antiques. Artifacts found in the house in central Israel included gold coins from the Byzantine and Islamic eras, tens of 2000 years Hasmonean coins, and hundreds of bronze coins from the Roman period.

“The illegal trade in coins and antiques creates an income opportunity for antique looters, and it encourages the theft of antiques and fatal and irreversible damage to sites across the country,” Inspector says National Trade Institute of the IAA. Ilan Hadad in a declaration, by a translation of the To post.

Suspected looter was likely involved in antiquity trade and trafficking in Israel and abroad, reports World Israel News. As Ell Ko notes for Taxi design, officials did not say how many coins were in the treasury or what its overall value is.

According to IAA, thieves searching for priceless artifacts damage hundreds of archaeological sites across the country every year. Organized teams known as “diggers” meet under the cover of darkness to carry out illegal digs with metal detectors and other tools.

These thieves usually target sites in the Second Temple period, which spanned from 516 BCE to 70 AD, and Jewish burials containing rare pieces hit during jewish rebellions against the Romans in the first century of our era

“The Antiquities Law states that all antiques belong to the state,” said Kobi Sharvit, director of the IAA Marine Archeology Unit, in 2015 declaration. “Failure to report or remove antiques from their location or sell or trade them is an offense punishable by up to five years in jail.”

Israel is one of the only countries in the Mediterranean basin to authorize antique dealers to obtain a license to sell goods. If a seller wishes to pledge illegally acquired artifacts, he can use an authorized dealer as an intermediary and conduct business without arousing suspicion.

“[L]The ooters, who dig into archaeological sites and destroy them for their own greed, disconnect antiquities from their archaeological context and erase entire chapters of the history of the Land of Israel – stories that will never be told again, ” Hadad said in the statement.

Earlier this year, IAA officials restored another treasure trove of stolen archaeological artifacts including gold coins, jewelry, Egyptian sarcophagus lids, bronze statues, clay vessels and votive objects. Seized during raids on three sites in central Israel, the “quantity and quality of the artifacts” stunned archaeologists involved in the operation, as Ruth Schuster wrote for Haaretz at the time.

In recent years, the IAA has taken comprehensive steps to protect the country’s cultural treasures from thieves.

As Kristin Romey reported for National Geographic in March, an ongoing “rescue” mission to protect the caves where Dead Sea Scrolls were found revealed fragments of biblical texts and a 10,000-year-old woven basket. Speak To post, the IAA found evidence that the thieves came within inches of the objects but stopped digging just before they reached them.

“For years we have pursued antiquity looters,” said Amir Ganor, head of the anti-theft cell, in a video statement. “We finally decided to warn thieves before [artifacts] are removed from the ground and caves.