Inspectors from the Antiquities Robbery Prevention Unit in the Israel Antiquities Authority have retrieved a collection of over 6,000 ancient coins that were being illegally sold.
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After scouring digital platforms to track down the coins, members of the unit pinned their suspicions on the owner of a jewelry store in Ashkelon whom they believed to be selling the coins in violation of the country's antiquities laws.
'Illegal trade in antiquities comprises a critical link in the chain that feeds off antiquities theft. Antiquities theft strikes an irreversible blow to the country's ancient sites,' says IAA's national inspector for trading Ilan Hadad
When the seller's home and business were raided, officials found thousands of coins from various eras that were intended for sale or trade. Inspectors also found metal implements and digging equipment that they suspect the seller used to steal artifacts from archaeological excavations.
The suspect was detained and questioned by inspectors from the Robberies Prevention Unit, who will then hand the case over to the Attorney General for prosecution.
The recovered coins have been sent to IAA numismatists to be identified and dated.
Ilan Hadad, national inspector for trading at the IAA, explained that "Illegal trade in antiquities comprises a critical link in the chain that feeds off antiquities theft. Antiquities theft strikes an irreversible blow to the country's ancient sites.
"The robbers, who dig at archaeological sites, destroying them out of greed, cut the antiquities off from their archaeological context and erase entire chapters of the history of the Land of Israel. These are stories that will now never be told," Hadad said.
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