Egyptian authorities arrested two men for trying to steal hundreds of antiquities that were at the bottom of the sea, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement released on Monday (23).
The detainees took the pieces from the seabed of Abu Qir Bay, near the port city of Alexandria, the ministry said. When confronted by authorities, both said they obtained all the antiquities by diving to the bottom of the sea and planned to traffic them, the official statement said.
Some 448 objects were taken by the men, according to the Ministry’s statement, including 305 coins, 53 statues, 41 axes, 14 bronze cups, 12 spears and three statue heads.
The objects date back to Greek and Roman antiquity, a period that lasted around 900 years, from around 500 BC to 400 AD. Photographs published by Egypt’s Ministry of the Interior show the items after they were seized.
The pieces, transformed into turquoise by layers of patina, represent objects and people from the era from which they came. Some statues represent former soldiers in uniforms.
The coins are carved with great detail and represent animals such as lions, elephants, turtles, dolphins and scorpions. Two coins appear to show the immortal winged horse Pegasus, from Greek mythology.
This content was originally published in Egypt arrests suspects of trying to steal hundreds of antiquities from the bottom of the sea on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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