Ukraine: Seized Romanesque Slab Deposited in Museum While Investigations Continue

              The seized slab (UNN)              
    

On March 27th, Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine, together with Rostyslav Karandeiev (the acting Minister of Culture of Ukraine) transferred a rescued archaeological artefact to the National Museum of History of Ukraine. This was a unique stone sculpted relief of the Kyivan Rus period depicting the Holy Warrior that had been offered for sale at an online auction for UAH 210000 (approx 5350 USD). The object was seized by law enforcement agents two years ago and the investigations into the seller are still underway.

According to the museum's director, Fedir Androshchuk, the rescued slab is, without exaggeration, a unique object of art and architecture. The sculptural relief in Romanesque style decorated a large monumental church. The facade of the church, which is still unknown to us, probably depicted a number of holy warriors. Unfortunately, there are almost no churches with ornamented facades of this time, and this is the uniqueness of this slab, he said.

The name nor location of the online auctioneer were not revealed. 

Over the past three years, the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine have investigated more than 300 crimes of theft, illegal trade, and smuggling of such objects. These include attempts to illegally export ancient coins, jewelry, weapons, and even prehistoric fossils. These offences are discovered and the perpetrators are brought to justice.