TALLINN, ESTONIA—ERR News reports that Estonia will repatriate to Ukraine artifacts recovered by customs officers during a routine check at the border with Russia in 2018. “The material is quite diverse, containing parts of several treasures from different regions,” said archaeologist Nele Kangert of Estonia’s National Heritage Board. “This suggests we are dealing with a black-market network,” she explained. Toomas Huik, commander of the Luhamaa border point, said that the officers first spotted a piece of yellowish metal wrapped in paper in the cab of a truck that had been carrying meat. A search of the vehicle revealed a total of 274 ancient gold and silver items, including jewelry, coins, a chalice, and horse headgear. Analysis of the artifacts identified one of the coins as a golden stater of King Lysimachus, who became ruler of Thrace after the death of Alexander the Great. Pieces of 2,300-year-old Scythian gold jewelry were also identified. Further investigation and consultation with archaeologists from Ukraine showed that many of the objects originated in eastern and southern Ukraine, although it is not yet clear if all of the objects were stolen from small museums or had been looted from the ground. To read about gold artifacts recovered from an ancient burial chamber in Bulgaria, go to "Thracian Treasure Chest."
