Over 2,000 missing archaeological objects recovered in Andalucía since 2020

More than 1,200 archaeological artefacts were found in the home of an archaeological expert and enthusiast in Almeria province in 2024. The items are chance finds from archaeological sites in the province and collected from the 1970s to the 1990s.

The objects have not been registered by experts and every day, the National Police unit attached to the regional government, the Junta de Andalucía, works to recover what has been lost or stolen by thieves or organisations that later sell them on the black market.

According to data provided to IDEAL by the Junta de Andalucía, from 2020 to 2024, 2,017 archaeological objects and effects or remains have been seized. Of these, 261 were recovered in 2023 and 1,238 in 2024. The most noteworthy was the transfer of a private collection of undeclared pieces in the municipality of Terque. This collection consisted of 63 archaeological effects and three boxes with "diverse archaeological material" and reproductions.

Officers highlighted in this operation six amphorae and two amphora necks, a Roman oil lamp and votive offering, Argaric cups, tulip-shaped vessels and bowls, flint fragments, boat-shaped millstones, and a collection of archaeological pieces of Ibero-American origin. The collection was deposited in the Museum of Almería and the Ibero-American collection was sent to the Museum of America in Madrid.

When individuals find archaeological objects, they should immediately inform the competent authority, as was the case in Pinos Puente (Granada province), where someone handed over 98 archaeological pieces from the Copper Age to the Middle Ages, which were taken to the Archaeological Museum of Granada. The same happened in the Pescadería area, where a person contacted the Museum of Almería to hand over three Roman amphorae, which had been in the possession of his deceased brother as a gift from some local fishermen in the 1990s.

In 2024, the 1,200 pieces mentioned at the beginning of the article were handed over, including prehistoric axes and hatchets, ceramic remains from the Copper and Bronze Ages and pieces of Emirate pottery from Bayyana.

Some people prefer to hand over objects anonymously to the police and last year they received a funerary object known as a tholos; in Rioja, they recovered two stone mills and a grinder; in Pechina, two marble columns and, in Santa Fe de Mondújar, a betyl - a sacred stone - originating from a tomb at the Los Millares archaeological site.

These historical assets, which contribute to the cultural heritage of a place, are covered by the Penal Code and the theft of pieces or remains can lead to a prison sentence of six months to three years or a fine, as set out in article 323.

This happened in 2023, when six young people practicing Parkour were reported for jumping from El Cable Inglés and its surroundings, a protected building registered as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC). "I'm nervous, not because of the jump, but because of the authorities," said one of the youngsters at the time. "It's the fine that scares me," said another. "It's going to get messy again, like in all the videos," added a third person. "Get used to this content, because we're going to bring you quality," the last one said.

This group, known as La Tribu, climbed the Cable Inglés with the aim of jumping from it, filmed the entire stunt and uploaded it to YouTube, generating hostility among Almería's citizens and immediate legal responses from the relevant affected authorities.

The functions of the police unit attached to the Andalusian regional government include, as seen in the Parkour video, the protection of the region's historical and cultural heritage.

Patrols are carried out for the surveillance and protection of heritage, carrying out administrative police work and reporting any infringements observed to the administrative bodies concerned. The unit also acts as judicial police, investigating criminal offences such as looting, damage and misappropriation and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

According to the Andalusian government, another important action is to ensure the protection and value of the historical heritage, informing the competent administrations about sites and cultural assets that have not been catalogued and recovering archaeological pieces and effects of historical value that have not been declared.