The Carabinieri of the Palermo Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, in cooperation with the Syracuse Section and the Carabinieri Company Command of Santo Stefano di Camastra seized more than 11,000 illicitly obtained archaeological artefacts in Italy.
Figurines, oil lamps, loom weights, oscilla, tesserae, bronze and ceramic finds from various periods were found in two separate houses in Syracuse and Caronia, in the province of Messina.
Notes attached to the artefacts indicate that they originate from archaeological sites in Sicily. Among them, there are Halaesa Archonidea, Megara Hyblea, Himera and Morgantina.
The authorities arrested one person for unauthorised archaeological excavations and possession of cultural property belonging to the state.