A 62-year-old man was arrested for stealing antiquities in Drama – He turned his yard into an “archaeological museum”

A 62-year-old man in Drama is accused of possessing a number of ancient objects. The archaeological treasure was located following a police operation by the Department of Cultural Heritage and Antiquities of the Security of Thessaloniki, in the presence of a judicial official, while the 62-year-old was arrested and is being taken to the competent prosecutor.

According to an announcement by the Hellenistic Greek Orthodox Church, two parts of a sarcophagus cover (probably from the Roman period) were found in the yard of his house, an unadorned Byzantine masonry capital, parts of an eight-sided Byzantine colonnade set in a flower bed and a four-sided Byzantine pessico (and an intact slab), such as also a breastplate covered with a decoration reminiscent of arabesque and dated to the late Byzantine period (13th-14th century).

The above objects were examined by an archaeologist of the Antiquities Authority of Drama and it was found that they fall under the protective provisions of the Law on Antiquities.

In addition, objects were found and confiscated in the same area, which according to the archaeologist’s opinion need further investigation. More specifically, it is the trunk of a corbelled column, which supports the masonry capital, parts of pitchers (a base, three parts of a body or bodies, a handle and a rim), a surplice of a Muslim tomb column (sariq), capital in second use, part of an inscribed Muslim tombstone, four fragments of vases, twelve inlaid fragments of inscribed Muslim tombstones and a bronze accessory.