A German woman of pensionable age could face a prison sentence of up to three years for offences against historical heritage, having allegedly committed one of the largest thefts of archaeological pieces in recent years.
She was placed under investigation by the Guardia Civil in Mallorca after luggage at Palma Airport was found to contain two bags of coins that she intended to have valued and then sold in Germany.
The coins were seized and passed on to the Guardia’s Seprona division. Investigators requested a search warrant. They found 1,500 Roman and Arab coins, pieces of glassware, swords, Roman oil lamps and amphorae, some of them from the end of the second millennium BC.
Lieutenant Francisco Manuel DÃaz, who heads the Seprona division in the Balearics, says that these items were probably all taken from various Mallorca locations, both land and sea. The Museu de Mallorca is currently guarding them, and the Council of Mallorca’s historical heritage service will carry out a full study in order to assess their scientific and historical value.
Under Spanish law, these archaeological remains are assets in the public domain, meaning that they belong to society as a whole.
Lieutenant DÃaz explains: “Anyone who causes damage to property of historical, scientific or artistic value, etc., or to archaeological sites can be sentenced to six months to three years in prison or a fine of twelve to twenty-four months. In the case of having caused particularly serious damage, the penalty would be higher. Courts may order measures aimed at restoring damaged property as far as possible.”
