Italian police seize Estruscan treasures stolen from ancient grave by amateur ‘tomb raiders’

Italian police have recovered a trove of “exceptionally valuable” Etruscan funereal artefacts stolen in an illegal excavation of a 2,300-year-old aristocratic tomb in Perugia.

The vast array of treasures, believed to have belonged to Etruscan princesses, is reported to have been described by experts as one of the most important recoveries of artefacts ever made in relation to the ancient Italian civilisation.

The artefacts – including eight urns, two sarcophagi and beauty accessories such as bronze mirrors and a perfume bottle still carrying traces of its original scent – are worth at least €8m, Carabinieri art police said.

One sarcophagus contained the full skeleton of a woman in her 40s, while the urns were finely decorated with scenes from Greek mythology and female figures with still visible red paint on their lips and gold colouring on their jewels.

Part of the ancient burial site, belonging to the ancient “Pulfna” family, was first discovered in 2015 by a farmer while ploughing land close to the town of Citta della Pieve, who was given around €100,000 as a reward for his discovery.

But Italy’s cultural heritage police opened an investigation last April after photographs of similar relics – this time depicting females instead of males, as in the case of those unearthed in 2015 – were discovered on the illicit online art market, circulated by amateur “tomb raiders” in their search for buyers.

Following investigations using phone taps, stakeouts and air surveillance drones, police identified a second excavation site on land adjacent to the site initially discovered in 2015, of a tomb also belonging to the Pulfna family, who held an important socio-political role at the time.

Police ultimately seized the illegally excavated artefacts from two individuals who had unearthed the burial chambers while excavating land they owned, after one of them posted a picture of himself on Facebook alongside a looted artefact, said Peruga’s chief prosecutor Raffaele Cantone.

They “had nothing to do with the world of [practised] tomb raiders” and were “clumsy” and “amateurish” in the way they tried to access the black market for looted art, the prosecutor told reporters on Tuesday.

The pair face charges related to theft and trading in stolen goods, and risk jail sentences of up to 10 years, said prosecutor Annamaria Greco, who led the investigation.

Local outlet Corriere dell’Umbria reported that the details on the urns offer new and valuable information on the culture and beliefs of the Etruscans, with the operation reportedly described by experts as one of the most important recoveries of Etruscan finds ever made.

Italy’s culture ministry said many of the artefacts were “perfectly preserved” and were “considered to be of exceptional historical and artistic value”.

The Etruscans flourished in central Italy during the Hellenistic period, between around 900BC to 27BC, when their lands were assimilated into the Roman empire, upon which the Etruscan culture had a lasting influence in terms of architecture, religion and tradition.

But while the Etruscans left behind lavish tombs, statues and pottery, few written documents have been uncovered, with patchy evidence of their daily lives. They left behind lavish tombs, pottery and statues but tantalisingly few written documents and patchy evidence of their daily lives.

Additional reporting by AP