They were digging to a depth of 24 meters to find gold pounds from the time of the German occupation inside a preserved building in the historical district of Kyriotissa, in Veria. The reason for six people, most of them friends with each otherwho for this purpose settled for 40 days in the capital of Imathia, where they stayed in a hotel, while almost every day they entered the historic building with professional equipmentsuch as metal detector, electric compressor, canopies, gasoline generator, anti-suffocation masks, etc.

The case came to light in September 2018, following a coordinated police operation at the site of the illegal excavation. The policemen were surprised to find that the modern gold hunters had dug a hole one meter long and dug to a depth of 24 meters. Their excavation was fruitless, as they found neither the archaeological treasure nor the pounds they were looking foras the indictment attributed to them.

The police investigation seems to have revealed that a 74-year-old, a resident of Veria and one of the accused, “inspired” the others to search the scene, claiming that two chests containing a total of 18,000 gold pounds were hidden under the listed building. Under these circumstances, his five co-accused decided to travel to Veria from various parts of the territory, mainly from Attica, in pursuit of the …hidden treasure.

Court of first instance the Three-member Court of Criminal Appeal sentenced the 74-year-old to 10 years in prison (tried in absentia) and the remaining five to a total of 5 years in prison (with recognition of mitigating circumstances).

the penalties

The case was revived today at the Five-member Court of Appeal of Thessalonikiwhich reduced their sentences. The judges accepted that it was an illegal excavation, but not in a designated “archaeological site” and for this reason they were acquitted of the criminal act they were facing. Instead, they were found guilty of using a metal detector and vandalizing a monument (a misdemeanor).

Consequently gave the elderly man a redeemable 4-year prison term and his 5 co-accused 12-month prison term suspended for 3 years.

“We dug all day”

In their apologies they stated that they were only looking for pounds, which they would share, while citing financial problems they were facing at the time. “We went for a better tomorrow. We started at 6 in the morning and left at 8 in the evening,” said one characteristically, while another apologized that they did not have special knowledge from excavations. “The metal detector was going off and we were going down,” he noted.

Earlier, a police officer who participated in the investigations, testifying as a witness, reported that “it was a big shock for us when we went down”while an archaeologist of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Imathia emphasized that “with the pressure of the soils”the listed building suffered damage to its stability.