Hundreds of ancient artifacts seized from home in northern Israel

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

About 270 ancient artifacts were found in the search, including coins from different periods and figurines of Medusa.

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Ancient artifacts seized from an antiquities dealer in northern Israel, September 2022 / (photo credit: YULI SCHWARTZ/IAA)

Hundreds of ancient decorated toga pins, earrings, rings and figurines of animals and idols were found in the home of a man who used to be an antiquities dealer in northern Israel, the Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday.

The Robbery Prevention Unit of the Antiquities Authority had entered the home with a search warrant. The suspect, a 70-year-old man, used to be an antiquities dealer and is suspected of trading in antiquities without a license and smuggling antiquities abroad.

“The suspect knew the provisions of the law but chose to ignore them and act against the law in order to make money,” said Amir Ganor, director of the Robbery Prevention Unit. “Hundreds of ancient finds reach the antiquities trade market as a result of illegal excavations at antiquities sites throughout the State of Israel. The time has come to act to ban the trade in antiquities in Israel, similar to all the countries of the Mediterranean Sea.”