Civil Guard confiscates archaeological loot documents for half a century in Marina Alta

Agents intercepted more than half a thousand archaeological remains. 350 pieces of material origin and almost 200 skeletal remains several thousand years old. A neighbor from Gata de Gorgos and a neighbor from Dénia were investigated for aggravated embezzlement of property of historical, cultural or scientific value.

bone remains

The investigation began last November, when agents learned through the Gata de Gorgos Local Police that there were various ancient bone remains in a house in that town. These remains were found during a report of a burglary at the home and the Civil Guards were notified if they were related to a murder.

Remains captured in Dénia and Gata.

However, this possibility was ruled out and thanks to the collaboration of an archaeologist from the Xàbia Town Hall, the skeletal remains found in the house of Gata de Gorgos were found. 4,000 to 5,000 years old.

Cooperation was requested from the Technical Inspectorate of the Generalitat Ministry of Culture for the cataloging and detection of the archaeological artifacts found in Gata, and it was determined that the collection in question was smuggled, since there was no document in its possession.

Remains captured at Gata and Dénia.

The owner of these relics collaborated with the Civil Guard and acknowledged that a deceased resident of Dénia provided them to him. This clue led to the discovery of a larger collection. archaeological fragments In a house in Dénia. The Civil Guard entered the house and asked for a search warrant, and they found a large volume of archaeological and paleontological artifacts inside.

The pieces are allegedly inherited by the current resident of a deceased relative’s home. However, it has no documents to justify its possession, nor has it taken any action to regulate them. In this recording, Alicante Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

loot notebooks

Among the seized objects and documents, investigators found numerous notebooks, all handwritten by the deceased relative. They contain descriptions of the exact locations of the intervened parts. Generalitat technicians attach more importance to these documents than the parts that are intervened because they are registered. The looting of archaeological sites in Marina Alta for nearly half a century. The same author was known as a looting suspect in the company of more people.

Among the items seized in this house, the Civil Guard highlights the following:

• Five amphorae of Betic, Phoenician and Punic origin.

• Five mills from the Bronze Age and Neolithic.

• Five weights of a loom from ancient Roman times.

• A human skull.

• An 18th-century iron grenade and various cannonballs.

• More than 1,000 tesserae forming mosaics from Roman times.

• Various ammonite and nautilus fossils.

• Ceramic material from the Bronze Age to the mid-20th century.

• Various Roman ointments.

• Paleolithic flint tools.

• Half sword of S. XII.

• Archaeological fauna and malacofauna.

• Roman lateritic material and numerous fossils.

The work of experts can help set the date. origin and context of partsthereby increasing their value and even facilitating their location. new archaeological sites

Remains captured in Dénia and Gata.

The sheer volume of archaeological and paleontological fragments found required the assistance and cooperation of experts. Dénia Archaeological Museum Belonging to the City Council’s Sociocultural Area, it provided a suitable place for its preservation and storage.

Collectors

The Civil Guard investigated the two owners of these illegal private collections for alleged perpetrators of aggravated embezzlement of property of artistic, historical, cultural or scientific value. Both investigations were reported to the Court of First Instance and to Dénia’s Order No.

Captured map where loot is marked.

baptized as “Operation Cemetery“Performed by the Regional Team. Judicial Police of the Xàbia Civil Guard Under the Plan of Defense of the Spanish Historical Heritage.