A 61-year-old German tourist faces up to a decade in a Greek prison after being caught attempting to smuggle an ancient marble column out of the country. The man was arrested at the port of Patras while trying to board a ferry to Italy with the artifact hidden in his vehicle. This incident underscores Greece’s strict laws against antiquities trafficking, with potential sentences up to 12 years. The column’s authenticity was confirmed by an archaeologist, though its origin remains unknown. The case reflects broader issues of cultural heritage theft, similar to efforts on Skiathos to prevent tourists from taking pebbles from Lalaria Beach.
Tag: ancient artifact
In a ceremony at the Greek Embassy in Rome, Paolo Catti De Gasperi, grandson of former Italian Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi, returned a 5th-century B.C. krater to Greece. The artifact, originally gifted to his grandfather in 1953 by Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Papagos, symbolises the enduring cultural ties between Italy and Greece.
A remarkable archaeological find occurred when 13-year-old Yair Whitestone stumbled upon an ancient ring while hiking with his father on Mount Khirbet Shalala, near Haifa, Israel. Experts determined that the ring, which dates back nearly 2000 years, features a depiction of the Greek goddess Athena