An Antiquities “treasure trove” found in central Athens basement

An illegally acquired hoard of antiquities, including objects from the Geometric (1100-750 BC) to the Hellenistic (up to 31 BC) periods and 3,247 coins, has been discovered in the basement of a commercial property in central Athens, the Culture Ministry has announced.

The artefacts were found in the Alexandros Soutsos Mansion, located at the corner of 33 Stadiou and 3 Pesmazoglou streets, in a property owned by the National Gallery of Greece that was leased as a shop until recently. They were stashed in an underground space that could only be accessed through a trapdoor on the ground floor.

They were wrapped in newspapers dating from the 1940s, when the property was leased and used as a store selling jewelry, watches and works of art.

The antiquities were discovered in February during the process of serving court eviction orders on the former tenants of the premises.

Officials said the find represented an illegally acquired hoard. “In addition to the repatriation of cultural goods illegally exported from our country, there are also cases of the illegal activity of acquiring goods in our country. One such case was identified in the heart of Athens,” said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.

State archaeologists conducted an inventory of the hoard and found it contained 102 ancient objects dating from the Geometric to the Hellenistic periods (kylixes, canthari, basins, lekythoi, skyphoi, figurines etc), 36 religious objects from the post-Byzantine period (icons, silver inlays, a hierarchal staff and other ecclesiastical objects), as well as 3,247 coins, medals, seal stones and weights dating from ancient to modern times.

The objects were transferred for safekeeping to storage areas of the Athens ephorate of antiquities and the Numismatic Museum, where they will remain until the investigation of the case is completed.

After their conservation, they will be examined by a special scientific committee, which will decide on their monetary value.

The announcement of the find comes a day after the Culture Ministry said a white marble statue of a naked male figure was discovered during preparatory works to lay natural gas pipes elsewhere in Athens.