Man held over archaeological haul
Submitted by coldrum on Sunday, 24 January 2010 Page Views: 1596
Other ArchaeologyCountry: England County: West SussexInternal Links:
A 51-year-old man from West Sussex has been arrested by police investigating the alleged plundering of valuable archaeological artefacts. A large volume of items of "considerable antiquity" were seized at a house by officers who executed a search warrant in Barnham, near Chichester, West Sussex.
Police said some of the artefacts were suspected of being stolen by "nighthawking" from an undisclosed site in the Chichester area and elsewhere recently.
The items found so far include medieval and Roman coins, ivory and silver, and one gold Iron Age coin, brooches, buttons and horse equipment of similar ages.
In addition, a souvenir-type item often taken by pilgrims to mark their pilgrimage to religious sites across the country was seized, Sussex Police said.
A police spokesman said the suspect was detained under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the Theft Act.
Sussex Police officers were being helped by a team from neighbouring Kent Police under Chief Inspector Mark Harrison, who specialises in investigating "heritage crime".
Two qualified archaeologists, retained whenever needed as police support staff, form part of the team, the police spokesman said.
Nighthawking is the plundering of ancient monuments by unlawful searches, usually at night, including by use of metal detectors.
Dr Andy Brown, English Heritage director for the South East, said: "Nighthawking is on the increase and not only robs the rightful owner of their property but deprives us all of the knowledge that can be gleaned from studying the artefacts."
Source: PA via Google
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