Italian Police Recover Trove of Etruscan Antiquities

Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale One of the urns recovered by the police.

ROME - Italy’s specialized art theft police force has recovered a trove of Etruscan objects described by officials as being “of inestimable economic and scientific value.”

The archeological artifacts, mostly dating to the third and second century B.C., had been discovered several years ago during a construction project in a neighborhood of modern day Perugia and were illegally excavated and trafficked on the clandestine art market before being traced by the police.

“This is one of the most important recoveries of the past 30 years,” said Luigi Malnati, director general of antiquities at Italy’s cultureministry, during a presentation Thursday of the artifacts that had been recovered under a police operation called “Operation Iphigenia.”

Among the items recovered were 23 travertine marble funerary urns dating to the Hellenistic period from a single tomb complex identified as belonging to the Etruscan Cacni family. Police also recovered other objects from the tomb dig, including a bronze helmet and various ceramic bowls.

Five people are under investigation for unauthorized excavation of archeological artifacts, possession of artifacts that belong to the state, and receiving stolen goods.