2 HELD IN ATTEMPT TO SELL ANCIENT JEWELRY IN GREECE.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Police have arrested two men trying to sell a priceless collection of 7,000-year-old neolithic gold jewelry, treasures far older than those of ancient Troy. One of the few collections of its kind, the 54 pieces of gold jewelry dating as far back as 4500 B.C. were displayed by police Wednesday, a day after being recovered during a sting operation Noun 1. sting operation - a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals) . Panagiotis Evangelou, 48, a private detective, and Andreas Bittar, a Greek-Canadian, allegedly attempted to sell the gold pendants and beads for $3.5 million to undercover police officers in the southern Athens suburb of Vouliagmeni. ``They are of inestimable in·es·ti·ma·ble adj. 1. Impossible to estimate or compute: inestimable damage. See Synonyms at incalculable. 2. archeological, historic and commercial value,'' the police's archeological crime unit said, adding that the largest of the pieces, weighing nearly 3 ounces, is the only one of its kind found to date. The two men were charged with trying to sell unregistered antiquities. In a law designed to keep important Greek antiquities in the country, the government has first right to procure any antiquities unearthed Unearthed is the name of a Triple J project to find and "dig up" (hence the name) hidden talent in regional Australia. Unearthed has had three incarnations - they first visited each region of Australia where Triple J had a transmitter - 41 regions in all. in Greece. Trafficking in antiquities that have not been registered with the government is illegal. Describing the artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. as being ``of great importance,'' Katerina Dimakopoulou, the director of the National Archeological Museum, said the jewelry dated from the late neolithic period Neolithic period or New Stone Age. The term neolithic is used, especially in archaeology and anthropology, to designate a stage of cultural evolution or technological development characterized by the use of stone tools, the existence of , between 4500 B.C. and 3200 B.C. in the latter part of the Stone Age. Dimakopoulou said the items in the collection far exceed the total number of gold jewelry found from that period in Greece. The Trojan Gold, also known as King Priam's Treasure Priam’s Treasure is a cach of gold and other artifacts, which classical archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann claimed to have found at the site of ancient Troy. Schliemann assigned the artifacts to the Iliadic king of Troy, Priam. , was excavated by the German amateur archeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1873 and sent to Berlin. It is now in Russian hands. Schliemann was convinced at the time that it belonged to Priam, king of the city featured in Homer's epic, ``The Iliad.'' However, the hoard - discovered in what is now northwestern Turkey - was later determined to date to the Bronze Age and about 2500 B.C., long before Homer. Evangelou told police the coins belonged to an aunt from the Aegean island of Andros who died 20 years ago. Police searching his house also confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. five ancient bronze coins, including two from the Roman and two from the Byzantine periods.Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the collection will be displayed in Athens' National Archeological Museum. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Police display rare and priceless 7,000-year-old neolithic gold jewelry. Associated Press |
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