Police in Poland are searching for unknown perpetrators who appear to have found a hoard of over 100 Bronze Age objects during an illegal dig and then left them outside a local historical society. The items, which include 3,000-year-old jewellery and weapons, are now in the possession of the authorities.
“It is one of the biggest treasures found in Poland in recent years,” the Polish police wrote, who believe that the items were located using metal detectors without the proper permission to carry out such a search.
They have filed a notification to prosecutors for the crimes of conducting a search without consent and of damaging historical objects at an archaeological site. If identified, the perpetrators could face up to eight years in prison.
Police were first made aware of the issue after photographs of the artefacts were sent by email to the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments (WUOZ) in the city of Szczecin in northwest Poland.
The people who had the items in their possession said that they had been left by unknown persons outside the offices of a local historical association in the nearby Gryfino region. The association has now handed over the entire find to WUOZ.
The hoard includes weapons, necklaces, shield bosses, sickles and spearheads, with items made from both bronze and silver. Once proceedings in the case are completed, WUOZ will determine where they should be housed.
Main Image: Courtesy of Polish Police