|
In
its vaults, the museum preserves 15,000 artifacts seized or
confiscated from the black market over the years by a police
unit focused on the protection of cultural heritage. It is the
loot of raiders who for decades have targeted sites from
classical antiquity in southern Italy, such as Pompeii and
Herculaneum. Some even used underwater metal detectors, GPS,
sonar and drones to extract treasures from the shipwrecks and
archaeological sites submerged in the Mediterranean Sea.
From its repository, the museum selected 600 pieces to display
for visitors. Among them is a statue that had been in an
apartment building's courtyard since the early 20th century
until its theft in the 1980s, and which was found in 2009. There
are artifacts from Pompeii that a French archaeologist bought
from a local farmer in the 1990s for 50,000 lire (about $28
today). There are also ancient ceramics, coins, bronzes,
marbles, pottery, furnishings, weapons and armor dating from the
Archaic Period (approximately 650 to 480 BC) to the Middle Ages.
“It is a beautiful exhibition that tells a beautiful story, a
story also of redemption for our stolen archaeological
artifacts, which often find their way into private property or
even international museums," Massimo Osanna, the head of
national museums at Italy’s culture ministry, who helped curate
the exhibition, said in an interview. "Thanks to the work of the
public prosecutor’s office and the police, together with the
ministry, (these artifacts) are finally coming home and to
light.”
In 2023, the latest year for which there are complete records,
the police unit recovered over 100,000 artifacts which it
estimates are worth a total 264 million euros ($299 million).
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
