Roman Treasure Looted from the Sea in Alicante to Adorn a Company and a Garden

In Alicante, there's no need to travel to Rome to see millennia-old amphorae. Simply enter a shoe company's office or stroll through a private estate to admire these treasures. This is how the National Police attached to the Generalitat managed to recover these archaeological remains from underwater sites.

In this case, someone decided that a submarine Roman treasure served better as decoration than in a museum. That was until the Police came knocking. The first operation took place on September 12th, at the offices of a shoe company in Santa Pola.

It was there that officers from the Historical Heritage Group based in Alicante, during their operational duties to protect cultural heritage, located two damaged Roman period amphorae and a neck of the same type of vessel.

These treasures were displayed in the shoe company's office, alongside a ceramic vessel from the medieval era with marine remnants, as well as a fossilized coral.

After identifying the person in possession, the Police seized these items and transferred them to the Santa Pola Archaeological Museum, where they were deposited as public domain goods, for inspection by technical staff from the Alicante Territorial Culture Service.

The second operation occurred on September 25th, when the Environmental Group of the Elche Local Police requested collaboration from the Historical Heritage Group of the Generalitat Police in Alicante following the discovery of an ancient amphora on a rural estate in the Torrellano area.

Members of the Heritage Group of the attached unit, along with the Elche Local Police, travelled to the location where the piece, also dating from the Roman period, was found. Given the marine encrustations, it is estimated to also originate from an underwater site.

After seizing the amphora and drafting the corresponding report, the Heritage Group officers transferred it to the Elche Archaeological Museum (MAHE), where it was deposited for the technical staff of the Alicante Territorial Culture Service.