Italy recovers Etruscan artifacts worth $8.5 billion bound for black market

ROME — Italian authorities announced Tuesday the seizure of an illegal excavation of an Etruscan burial site in the central Umbria region and are investigating two people for suspected theft of urns, sarcophagi and other artifacts worth 8 million euros ($8.5 million) intended for sale on the black market.

The illegal dig was adjacent to another Etruscan burial site discovered by a farmer tilling his land in 2015, authorities said. They were tipped off by photographs of artifacts and the site that were circulating on the black market that resembled objects found on the farmer’s land.

Using a drone for aerial photography and phone taps, they located the second site on land belonging to a local businessman who had access to earthmoving equipment.

At the new site they found two sarcophagi, believed to be of two Etruscan princesses, one still with the skeleton inside, and a burial trousseau complete with urns with battle and hunting scenes, perfume jars and a comb made from bone.

The Etruscan civilization existed from about 900 B.C. to 27 B.C. in central Italy primarily between the Tiber and Arno rivers, covering parts of present-day Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio.