Metal Detectorist Arrested Near Tarquinia for Looting

A man, 47, was arrested in Tarquinia for possession of stolen goods of archaeological interest. The man was stopped at a road check, and in his car were found a metal detector, a tool used for digging and 2 Roman coins. The man would not reveal where the coins had come from and his house was searched, in the course of which a further 7 Roman coins "and numerous fragments of bronze of great archaeological interest" were found and the man was arrested. "The archaeological findings, of an approximate value of €5,000, together with the metal detector and the tools for digging, have been subject to seizure".

Meanwhile in England today, thousands of artefact hunters, after a day's emptying archaeological sites into their pockets, will be packing up soon as dusk falls and heading for home with a good deal more than just two Roman grots in their cars safe in the knowledge that the worst that will happen to any of them is they will not get a big enough pat on the head from some archaeo-bloggers for what they are doing. Poor waifs.

'Possesso di reperti archeologici e ricettazione, denunciato 47enne di Tarquinia ' Tuscia Times 28 ottobre 2014

 Vignette: digging holes even in grassland