Illegal Journey Of 2,000 Historic Artifacts Hidden In Truck Under The Guise Of Parquet

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - A large number of artifacts dated back to the Bronze Age were found hidden in a truck with Romanian license plates, driven by a Serbian citizen who said he was transporting them from Ukraine.

Photo: Serbian Customs

According to Serbian authorities, as many as 2,113 items described as being of “great historical and archaeological value” were recently seized from a truck at the Srpska Crnja border crossing between Serbia and Romania.

The truck had Romanian license plates and was being driven by a 46-year-old Serbian citizen. Serbian Customs said that according to the goods listed in customs documentation, the truck was transporting parquet from Ukraine to Serbia.

The driver, when asked what else he had in the truck, said that he was only carrying two bags of sweets and a couple of pots, reports Balkan Insight.

Photo: Serbian Customs

"On the night of December 29, 2020, at the border crossing, customs officers, in cooperation with the police, discovered and prevented an attempt to smuggle a rich archaeological collection, numbering more than 2,000 antiques of various periods," the statement said.

Serbian police informed that a thorough inspection of the car revealed that the truck cab and side toolbox were filled with undeclared antiques from various periods: the Bronze Age, the Byzantine period, the Middle Ages, as well as ancient Slavic and Celtic objects.

In Serbia, Serbian customs seized antiques from Ukraine under the guise of parquet were confiscated.

“Given the size and diversity of the collection, it is impossible to determine the value without an expert assessment, and all the items will be referred for analysis. It is evident, however, that they are of great historical and archaeological value,” it added.

In total, customs officers counted 2,113 items, most of which were pendants, rings, various tools and weapons. They also seized one large stone and several metal figures. In addition, customs officers found bracelets, brooches, and hairpins among the decorative elements, and among the weapons - many tips for spears, arrows, axes, and even maces.

After the artifacts were discovered, the driver told the customs officers that he agreed to transport them from Ukraine to Serbia for a small fee and that he was told that someone would contact him after he arrived in the country.

Image credit: Serbian customs

The discovery came two weeks after the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, sparked controversy when he presented an ancient gilded Orthodox icon to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to the country on December 14.

Ukraine’s embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina complained that the 300-year-old icon was an “object of Ukrainian cultural heritage” that it believed could have been taken from a part of eastern Ukraine that is controlled by Russian-backed separatists. On December 23, Russia handed back the icon to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s embassy in Moscow.

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer