A man has been arrested in the Greater Athens region in possession of a small illicit collection of antiquities including an ancient Greek hoplite’s helmet and a group of largely intact commercial amphorae, authorities said Thursday.
A police statement said the 71-year-old Greek suspect was taken into custody Wednesday after the antiquities were found in his home and in business premises in his possession.
It said the artifacts were deemed genuine antiquities by an archaeologist who examined them.
Police photographs showed what appeared to be a Corinthian bronze helmet, the most popular of several types used in classical Greece, and four amphorae of various sizes with signs of having been fished out of the sea, which would have originally transported wine or olive oil in the hold of an ancient trading ship.
Also, shards of amphorae and other pottery, three ancient bronze coins and a sword and scabbard dating from relatively recent times.
