Important archaeological finds have been returned to the Capocolonna museum in Crotone after seizures in two investigations
CROTONE – «Thanks to the exceptional activity carried out by the Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Cosenza, finds that had been stolen to satisfy the personal taste of a few powerful people were returned to the territory». The meaning of what happened yesterday morning at the National Archaeological Museum of Capocolonna, where 83 artefacts seized from traffickers in the context of two distinct investigations coordinated by the Crotone Prosecutor’s Office. It is no coincidence that the prosecutor Giuseppe Capoccia underlined that “this is a case in which the criminal trial leads to concrete results”.
Sending a message of legality to an audience of students, the prosecutor highlighted how, thanks to a complex activity involving the Italian and foreign judicial authorities and the archaeologists of the Superintendence, it was possible to “enrich” the museum. “You are the first custodians of this heritage” said the archaeological superintendent for the provinces of Catanzaro, Cosenza and Crotone, Stefania Argenti, addressing the children.
The first investigative activity, which allowed the recovery of about a mile of finds, is the one that led to the Achei operation in 2019 (the resulting trial is still pending before the Criminal Court of Crotone), conducted against a alleged transnational organization with ramifications in Great Britain, France, Germany and Serbia, as recalled by Captain Giacomo Geloso, commander of the NTPC of Cosenza. The second operation is the one which in August 2023 led to the seizure of various finds but also of a cannon dating back to the 16th century, used as an ornament in the courtyard of a private house in an area adjacent to the archaeological park after having presumably been taken from the seabed of Capocolonna.
The archaeologist Alfredo Ruga analysed, in front of the enchanted boys, some of the finds, dating back to between the Iron Age and the Roman Age, which «taken individually seem insignificant pieces but in reality they are pieces of history». Such as a fragment of a terracotta covering slab with palmette decoration and dating back to the 5th century BC which could be juxtaposed with those of the temple of Hera Lacinia. Also from the Greek period is a ridge tile similar to the tiles preserved in the Capo Colonna Museum which covered the sanctuary of Hera Lacinia, which was plundered in Roman times. An interesting marble tile from the island of Paros is very similar to those which, due to their brilliance, were chosen to signal that the one overlooking the Capocolonna park was a good navigation area.
But there is also a bronze spearhead, similar to other evidence of indigenous presences preserved in Capocolonna, and coins from ancient Thurio, from the Roman and Byzantine periods.
In short, a complex work of restitution which, after the cataloging of the finds, some of which still have to be studied in depth (such as that head of a woman from the Etruscan period in a perfect state of conservation of which the place of discovery is not yet known), will allow us to bring to full usability testimonies from the past that tell us our story.
The bitterness, however, remains. The damage done by traffickers, aimed at fueling the black market in artefacts, was not only to the state heritage but also cultural and scientific. Now it is hoped that the finds will not pass from the basements of the Court to those of the Museum, remaining in the boxes for as long once they arrive at their new destination.
Tags: Crotone important return artefacts stolen traffickers
