Hungarian Collector Returns 183 Khmer Textiles and Artefacts to Cambodia

Xinhua, ' Cambodia: Hungarian collector to return looted Khmer cultural heritage objects', China Daily November 21, 2025

Cambodia said on Friday that Istvan Zelnik, a Hungarian national and private collector, has agreed to return stolen Khmer cultural heritage objects to the kingdom after several years of negotiations. "Among the significant Khmer cultural heritage objects which will be returned to Cambodia under this agreement are 183 pieces of Khmer silk textiles ... as well as prehistoric artifacts such as coins, beads, jewelry, and items made of precious metals, bronze, stone and clay," said a press release from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. "Many of these objects were looted from Cambodia during the decades of civil war," the press release added [...]

Zelnik has collected Asian art for decades, including Khmer art and had already repatriated several Khmer artefacts . In the early 2000s, he founded the Hungarian Southeast Asian Institute, which he funded to support key research at Angkor and Koh Ker, including archaeological surveys, LIDAR studies and historical research. These efforts have significantly contributed to Cambodia's cultural preservation efforts and also contributed significantly to Koh Ker’s nomination for the World Heritage List. Zelnik anfd the Institute have also been involved in the publication of numerous scholarly works on cultural heritage, inscriptions, and contemporary Khmer art. 

 

35 arrests in Bulgaria in a large art trafficking investigation

                         Thracian rider and assorted tat                

 

A criminal network has been under investigatation or the trafficking of cultural goods, involving antiquities allegedly loted from countries across the Balkans ()/p>Europol press release: '35 arrests in Bulgaria in a large art trafficking investigation', 20 Nov 2025

On 19 November 2025, a coordinated effort led by Bulgarian authorities and supported by Europol, resulted in the dismantling of a criminal network involved in large-scale trafficking of cultural goods across Europe and beyond. This operation was conducted under the framework of a Europol operational taskforce. The action day involved law enforcement and judicial authorities from Albania, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The operational actions during this day were coordinated from coordination centres in Sofia, Bulgaria, and at Eurojust. Investigative activities are still ongoing. The investigation began after a house raid conducted in 2020 in Bulgaria, where authorities seized about 7 000 cultural artifacts [...] primarily Greco-Roman and Thracian antiquities [...]. The lack of clear provenance documentation for many of these items, established by the Bulgarian authorities at the time, raised suspicions of illegal acquisition. Since their seizure, the artifacts have been housed in the Bulgarian National History Museum in Sofia pending further investigation.[...]

Results from the action day on 19 November 2025
35 arrests in Bulgaria
131 searches including houses, vehicles and bank safes searched (1 in Albania, 120 in Bulgaria, 3 in France, 3 in Germany, 4 in Greece)

Seizures include over 3 000 artefacts (antique golden and silver coins and other antiquities) with an estimated value of over EUR 100 million, artworks, weapons, documents, electronic equipment, over EUR 50 000 in cash, and investment gold

That's what the text says, but the pictures show an inexplicable collection of tat, like you can pick up at any flea marerket all across Europe. Old pocket watches, modern gold chains, cigarette cases, a brass door key, a keyring with what I guess possibly is a piece of iron meteorite on it. Another shows some over-cleaned vintage revolvers with the markings almost buffed off and replica percussion lock pistol. Then there is 'money shot' of a load of old coins, many in holders and slabs - among which can - despite the police efforts to produce the muddiest out of focus effect in their photography - be seen those of western European and US sellers: HD Rauch, Künker, Classical Numismatics, Roman Numismatics, one of the several "GN coins", Classical Numismatics Group, and one I cannot immediately identify. In none of the photos are any coins idenytifiable, there are a lot of gold(coloured) ones - nothing visibly ancient or medieval.

The first photo shows a set of photos of the front of a carved stone plaque of unknown size and thickness. This represents a hellenistic or Roman period "Thracian rider" plaque. Again the police photographer had his mud-filter on, so the inscription is unclear and pixellated, so it's difficult to know what alphabet it is in. Possibly it is in Latin script (??...]ISKO[T U/A D ] C A [ R?....??). Behind the horse is a small standing figure holding something, in fronnt of the horse are two hooded women. The rider has an improbably bushy hairstyle. Despite the ugly but even paytch of dark earth-staining across the front, conveniently higfhlighting the design, to my eye, the outlining of the figure is too 'wooden', looking lkike somebody has copied a pattern. This could be just poor ancient craftsmanship, but I am not convinced that it would look more authentic in the hand.

In the same photo to the left of the picture there is a single ancient coin, quite large and thick, only the reverse is shown, showing a chariot going left, a dolphin below. It is rather worn. It looks like a tetradrachm of Syracuse (Sicily), of a type mostly struck under Dionysios I (Circa 405-400 BC). These are pretty pricy coins - better quality coins with better centring are on Coin Archives for 4-6 thousand USD. The fuzzy photogaphy does not help diagnose what we are looking at, if I had it in my hand, I'd be looking at that striking flwa five o'clock, is it split or cast? I'd be looking at the way the raised portions of the design are separated - as if they were struck from a flat-faced die, or whether the metal was cast into a hollow mould - one would give a sharper distiction between design and background, the other a 'soapy' appearance. Looking at the fuzz-photo, it seems to me more likely that what is behind the fuzz is a cast coin and not a struck one. Though if the photo had been better I'd be more positive on what it could be.

The only artefact that seems at all interesting is the silver-coloured fragment in a plastic bag to the left of the tetra. Again the photo skilfully (or skillessly) says less about the object than it reveals. It seems to be a fragment of a larger convex decorated item with a beaded rim. It reminds me of a medieval ('Viking') tortoise brooch. In which case it would be well out of place as a balkans find - but pefectly in line for being an internet purchase.

The primary High-Value Target (HVT) in this case is suspected of financing illegal excavations across Bulgaria and neighbouring Balkan countries. Local looters, allegedly working for middlemen acting on behalf of the HVT, are believed to have been involved in the illicit operations. The art collection seized in 2020 includes unique items, some of them dating back to 2000 BC, such as masks, military equipment, jewellery, vases, rhytons and cups from Thracian and Greco-Roman civilizations. Most of the artefacts had no provenance documentation, while only a few had questionable ones issued by auction houses and art galleries worldwide, primarily based in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Nothing shown in their press release or the pathetically dramatic photo of "raids" by armed cops of houses, a dacha and a churchyard? is anything like "2000BC", they show no "vases, rhytons and cups from Thracian and Greco-Roman civilizations". Nothing like that.

On the action day, Europol deployed two experts to Sofia, Bulgaria, to support the coordination of the activities across borders and to provide analytical support and expertise.

I'd love to know their names if they signed off on this one.

The second part of the video shows a house filled with antiques (and "antiques") and collectables. The collector had a bit of a hoarding problem, and a very eclectic taste (and a dubious one - though a couple of the paintings I quite liked). Most of the material we see the policemen rummaging through (wearing NO GLOVES) is mass-produced flea-market stuff.

As for "only a few had questionable [provenance documentation] issued by auction houses and art galleries worldwide, primarily based in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States", one wonders how far they will be "questioning" that. But of course that is something different from buying directly from looters.

A Single Coin "Rewrites" German History?

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From stories like this you'd believe that we knew eff-all about our own history until the metal detectors came along to sort it out for us (thedailydigest.com msn, 'A stunning new archaeological discovery could change history' msn 14 Nov 2025)

An ancient Celtic coin that was hidden from the world for more than two thousand years was recently plucked from the Earth by an amateur metal detectorist in Germany. It is a find that has already proven to be one of the best archeological discoveries this year. The metal detectorist was reportedly working her magic in a field near the city of Leipzig when she stumbled across a 2,200-year-old golden coin.

Working her magic, eh? The coin is said to be the type called "regenbogenschüsselchen" rainbow cup coins. It does not look the slightest bit like the ones published in the old literature (Franz Streber 1860, ' Über die sogenannten Regenbogen-Schüsselchen', München). These staters generally have a weight of 6-7g and a diameter of 17-20mm. To me this much smaller coin (2g they say) looks more like (but is not) a fanam coin from the Indian subcontinent - but what do I know? 

Apparently this is soooooo important because: "Celtic coins have been found throughout the Bohemia region and in the northwest Czech Republic. However, modern-day Saxony is far outside what many believe were the settlement areas of Celtic tribes. Only two other Celtic coins have ever been discovered in Saxony, making the discovery of a third a truly interesting find".  Why is it definitely not a modern collector's loss? 

So every time a loose item is found in a field 120km from where other objects that look a bit like it are found, it is a TRULY INTERESTING find? The excited arkies over there think it means their area engaged in "trade" with "The Celts" (an assumption that our ethnicity is determined by what coins we have in our pocket). Was it found in a context buried maybe with scales and weights, imported goods, or maybe grasped in the dead hands of a guy whose strontium isotopes show he was born in Bohemia (or wherever these "Celts" were)? Perhaps German archaeology could leave Kossinnism behind and adopt a more nuanced, questioning and demanding approach to evidence. This coin has "rewritten" nothing.

Secrecy Surrounds former Whereabouts of Ancient Akkadian Seal Stolen from the Duhok Museum in 1991.

                                                

In an apparent attempt to shield the owner of an illicitly-obtained antiquity in British hands, and the path of the object to the UK, British authorities are (again) refusing to reveal who received a visit from the Metropolitan Police Service's Art and Antiques Unit that led to a publicised hooray-feelgood "repatriation ceremony" ('Iraq recovers 4,200-year-old Akkadian seal stolen from Duhok Museum in 1991, 964media.com, 19.11.2025). Glad rags and gala uniforms were worn, canapés and a couple of celebratory bottles of chateau plonk-le-plonk were no doubt consumed in the press room as the usual bla-bla-speeches were performed. But the general public learnt eff-all from this about the international antiquities market (and the other parts of the 1970 UNESCO convention nobody talks about - Art 5f, 6c, 8 [Eight!], 10a and 10b and 13a). How was this item stolen from a museum (in the northermost bit of Iraq, later taken over by the Kurds) that in 1991 was evacuated to Baghdad? From whom, and how, did the British owner acquire it? Why are they not named if they acted in good faith and were duped by culture criminals?

Le Parisien: Ban on a "treasure hunt" in Loiret to protect archaeological heritage upheld by the courts

In the Loiret region of France, a ban on the organization of a weekend commercial metal detecting rally to protect the region's archaeological heritage has been upheld by the courts ( G.F., 'L’interdiction d’une « chasse aux trésors » dans le Loiret pour protéger le patrimoine archéologique confirmée par la justice'le parisien 14 novembre 2025).

The company La Boutique du Fouilleur and the metal detecting professionals' union Détexpert had wished to organize an event during which, on land potentially located in the Loiret department and two neighboring departments, the precise location of which would only be revealed at the last minute. In fact, “the sole purpose of the Détectland metal detecting rally was to find metal objects deliberately scattered by the organizers across 120 hectares of private farmland”, metal objects would be buried to be “found and unearthed by non-professional participants equipped with metal detectors”.

The Orléans Administrative Court and then the Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal refused to overturn the prefect's decision, in October 2021 and November 2023 respectively.

The Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal said: “The use of metal detectors in a particularly sensitive archaeological environment (…) entails a significant risk of archaeological discoveries likely to harm the preservation of archaeological heritage and lead to an irreversible loss of scientific information”. According to the judges, “given the presence of numerous archaeological sites in the Loiret department, the prefect could, without issuing a general and absolute ban, extend the prohibition to the entire department, limiting it to the context of the Détectland rally and the days of September 21 and 22, 2019.” This ban was therefore ultimately “proportionate to the objective pursued,” an objective that could not have been achieved “by a less restrictive measure,” they concluded.

The shopkeeper and the trade association of "metal detecting professionals" continued their legal proceedings. Now the Council of State has rejected their appeal in a ruling dated September 30, 2025. France's highest administrative court ruled that the ban on the Détectland rally decreed by the prefect “was not disproportionate” given “the presence in the (…) Loiret of numerous archaeological sites of heritage value” and that the fact that he “remained unaware of the location of the sites chosen by the organizers” did not alter its assessment.

OSCE assists UK authorities in "major antiquities recovery operation"

The OSCE (the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) the OSCE began supporting the United Kingdom Government and London Metropolitan Police in a significant national operation to secure and catalogue just under 200 cultural artefacts (OSCE press release 13 November 2025).

Following a request for assistance from the UK Government and London Metropolitan Police, specialists from the OSCE-led Heritage Crime Task Force will work alongside the Metropolitan Police to ensure the safe extraction, forensic documentation and secure storage of the objects. The collection includes significant items of Cambodian, Bactrian and Gandharan heritage, among others. These items will be examined and catalogued before being repatriated to their countries of origin.

“This operation demonstrates the true power of international co-operation in defending our common heritage and disrupting the networks that are complicit in the trafficking in cultural property,” said Ambassador Alena Kupchyna, the OSCE Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats. “Together, we are sending a clear message: those who profit from the theft, trafficking or destruction of cultural property will be identified, exposed and brought to justice, and these objects will find their way back home.”

As I have already pointed out, in most of these "actions" with their soft-power and feelgood propaganda value, "these objects will find their way back home" (to then create problems for over-stretched museums and officials in the unwitting source-country) takes total precedence over the "identification, exposure and bringing to justice" of those "who profit from the theft, trafficking or destruction of cultural property". In this press release, there is not a peep of that, the usual lack of naming and shaming, no announcement of preventative custody prior to a court case. Nothing. Slapped hand for the culture-criminals, good news for the media.

And of course NONE of this is related to "recovery" of (or fighting the looting of) artefacts looted in the United Kingdom?

What actully has been achieved here, except a few more pretty thgings to put into glass cases?

Treasure finds in England have Again Hit a Record High (General Rejoicing at Increased Scale of Destruction)

As the BBC reaches a new low with the resignation of its officials over fake news scandal, more tendentious reporting:

                                                                        

 Treasure finds in England have hit a record high BBC

 Provisional government figures recorded by the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme show 1,446 discoveries in England in 2024 - up from 1,266 the previous year. [...] Many are uncovered by metal detectorists like Emma Youell, who estimates she has found thousands of artefacts and describes herself as a "massive history nerd".[...] For the first time, the 2024 finds include two objects that meet a new definition of treasure. Previously treasure had to be at least 300 years old and made in part of precious metal such as gold or silver, or part of a hoard. From July 2023, this was expanded to objects at least 200 years old and deemed to be of outstanding historical, archaeological or cultural significance, regardless of what type of metal they are made from.

So, a small army of "nerds" each taking "thousands of artefacts" in 12 years from unrecorded and thereby destroyed archaeological contexts is of course doing the archaeological record [sarcastic font on] "no end of good" [sarcastic font off]. A hundred and eighty Treasure finds more than last year? 

"Dr Geake believes treasure finds have been rising in England because there are now more detectorists" 

And by how many has the number of people taking up the hobby increased in the same period?

 

ONLY AVAILABLE HERE: 

Britain's 'Treasure Blip' PACHI Sunday, 12 January 2020

'Treasure Trace: Why does it go Wibble-wobble-blip?' PACHI Tuesday, 14 January 2020.

'Britain's Wibby-Wobbly Treasure Results' PACHI Tuesday, 17 March 2020

'PAS Statistics For 2020. Cause for Concern?' PACHI Wednesday, 15 December 2021

'UK Local Newspaper Thinks it's Great that the Country's Archaeological Record is being Dismembered by Treasure Hunters' PACHI Sunday, 29 May 2022

 

'2022 Treasure Figures and an Update on The Treasure Blip', PACHI  Saturday, 27 January 2024 

'When Are British Archaeologists Going to Start Taking This Seriously?' PACHI Sunday, 2 March 2025

Provisional graphic representation of situation, but who cares, eh? 

Search continues for missing gold stolen from museum

Leigh Boobyer, 'First images of museum theft gold as hunt continues' BBC Wales 10/11/2025

Police have released images of artefacts dating from the Bronze Age which were stolen from one of Wales' national museums last month, as a police investigation into the burglary continues. South Wales Police said the gold jewellery was stolen from a display case in St Fagans National Museum of History, in Cardiff, at approximately 00:30 BST on 6 October. Gavin Burnett, 43, and Darren Burnett, 50, both from Northampton, were charged with burglary last month and remanded in custody. [...] A 45-year-old woman from Northamptonshire, who was also arrested as part of the investigation, remains on police bail.

South Wales Police have so far been unable to locate the missing stolen items.

Officers are still trying to locate the following artefacts:

Hoard of four Middle Bronze Age gold armlets from Llanwrthwrl, Powys,
Hoard of five Middle Bronze Age gold items Capel Isaf, Carmarthenshire,
Hoard of three Middle Bronze Age gold items from Heyope, Powys,
Early Bronze Age gold lunula from Llanllyfni, Gwynedd.

 

Ancient statues stolen from Syria's National Museum David Gritten

David Gritten, 'Ancient statues stolen from Syria's National Museum' 12/11/2025

As Syria attempts to get back on its feet after a bloody civil war and a decades-long brutal dictatorship, thieves broke into the National Museum of Damascus and walked away with six valuable Roman-era statues. The theft was discovered on Monday, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside. The six missing statues were made of marble and dated back to the Roman era, one official told the Associated Press. Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to determine the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that measures had been taken to strengthen protection and monitoring systems. The head of internal security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles". He added that guards at the museum and other individuals were being questioned.

Price Case, No News

Court proceedings in the case of funeral director and commercial rally organizer Jason Price, 54, of Purcell Close, Grantham, were supposed to have taken place on 7th November, but so far it is not possible to determine what happened. The man was subject to a police investigation into items that were submitted to the Finds Officer at Lincolnshire County Council between September 2019 and August 2023 that he claimed to have found while metal detecting in the Roxholm and Long Bennington areas. He was charged with four counts of fraud, and Price pleaded guilty to each. 

There has been no announcement of the fate of the "data" entered onto the PAS "database" and present for a whoiile before being quietly "quarantined" hoiping nobody would be any the wiser. Transparency however requires a statement of facts - the numbers and nature of items affected.

Interestingly, according to the Lincoln Crown Court webpage, no such sentencing took place. Another one let off with a handslap?

BM Caught out

 

It seems that more and more artefacts entering museums from the antiquities market are fakes. One such item is a Thor’s hammer pendant, said to have been found south of Carlisle and sold through Sotheby's that was acquired by the British Museum in 1990. It was some years later, when more of the same were popping up on the internet, that they realised it was a fake.

Museum number 1990,0101.1
Description
Pendant; silver: a Thor's hammer with suspension ring with ends riveted together; double-ended hammer shaped pendant with sub-spherical terminal to handle, pierced for suspension; hammer stamped on both faces with triangles containing six pellets; nine stamps on each side; modern forgery.

Two Blokes Accused of Dishonestly Selling 'Tainted' Gold and Silver Artefacts

 

 You are going to court, and this is how you decide to dress:
Robert Long and John Fisher (Pix via SWNS) 

Two men have denied accusations of dishonestly dealing in historic artefacts including trying to sell a rare Bronze Age sun disc to the British Museum.

Robert Long, 72, and John Fisher, 41, face a string of allegations relating to items illegally dug up but not declared as treasure. Both are accused of illegally dealing “tainted cultural objects” between November 2021 and January 2022.[...]

It is not explained how, if the charges are true, these two guys would have actually found the items in the first place in order to be in a position to dig them up. It is a mystery. Long, of Kirby Cane, Norfolk:

"is said to have offered the gold sun disc to the British Museum claiming to have found it in his garden and hoping to claim thousands through the treasure process. [...] Long pleaded not guilty at Norwich Crown Court to 12 charges including theft, fraud by false representation, dealing in tainted cultural objects, handling stolen goods, concealing criminal property and income tax evasion. Also among the allegations are theft by finding of a silver vervel ring – a ring attached to hawks to identify ownership. It is also alleged he sold three illegally dug up gold finger rings on eBay and dishonestly failed to disclose to insurers that a silver mount was fake.

John Fisher of Oulton, Norfolk on the other hand,

"pleaded not guilty to handling stolen goods and money laundering over the sale of the Bronze Age sun disc. He also denies a charge of theft by finding relating to a medieval gold finger ring at Bungay between 2018 and 2020. Judge Katherine Moore set a date in November 2027 for both men to stand trial over the charges.

The trial, estimated to last 10 days, is expected to hear evidence from prosecution historical experts.

Netherlands to return stolen ancient sculpture to Egypt

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The Netherlands has said it will return a stolen 3,500-year-old sculpture to Egypt. It had turned up in 2022 at The European Fine Art Foundation arts and antiques fair in Maastricht and, following an anonymous tip-off, Dutch authorities determined it had been stolen and exported illegally. The dealer, who is unnamed, voluntarily relinquished the sculpture. It is "highly likely" the stone head, dating from the time of Pharaoh Thutmose III pharaohs, plundered during the Arab Spring in either 2011 or 2012, according to the Dutch Information and Heritage Inspectorate. The Dutch government said it expected to hand the stone head over to the Egyptian ambassador to the Netherlands at the end of this year. "The Netherlands is committed both nationally and internationally to ensuring the return of heritage to its original owners," it said.

Dearbail Jordan, 'Netherlands to return stolen ancient sculpture to Egypt' BBC 2/11/2025.