Credit: Douane Française - www.douane.gouv.fr
Thanks to the French authorities, twenty-seven thousand and four hundred illegally obtained artifacts have been discovered at the home of a Frenchman living in Belgium.
Much of the haul was from Roman times but some were from the Iron Age, the Renaissance and the Middle Ages. According to news.artnet.com, it all started in October of 2019.
A man called Patrice T. notified the Flemish Organization for Immovable Heritage that he had recently found over fourteen thousand coins on his newly purchased property in Gingelom, Belgium. Archaeologists went to Patrice’s property and he showed them two large pails filled with coins that were in the trunk of his car.
French Artifact Raider Busted Trying to Launder Over 14,000 Roman Coins – The Wilmington Journal wilmingtonjournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wilmingtonjournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
French Authorities Seized More Than 27,000 Potentially Looted Archaeological Artifacts Hoarded by a Single Collector in Belgium
The suspect said he found ancient Roman coins in his apple orchard in Belgium, but experts say that is impossible.
December 17, 2020
Roman coins supposedly discovered in Belgium are believed to have been illegally excavated in France. Photo courtesy of the Onroerend Erfgoed, the Flemish Organization for Immovable Heritage.
French authorities in Belgium have seized a massive haul of 27,400 Roman coins and artifacts believed to have been illegally excavated throughout eastern France. Following a joint investigation by the two nations, officials found the hoard in the possession of a French man and his mother living in Belgium.