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Around 200 irreplaceable books, which were stolen from a warehouse in London, have been found buried in a house in Romania, the BBC reports.
13 people are charged in the case, of which 12 have pleaded guilty. The book collection includes rare editions of Dante and sketches by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, as well as books by Galileo and Isaac Newton from the 16th and 17th centuries.
“These books are extremely valuable, as well as being irreplaceable and of great importance to international cultural heritage,” Andy Durham of the Metropolitan Police told the BBC.
The books are worth about 2.5 million pounds, which is equivalent to more than 29 million crowns. The men who stole the books are part of a Romanian organized criminal group. They are responsible for several similar thefts in the UK.
Processed by bottle finds
The irreplaceable books aren’t the only shocking discovery made in the past six months. In July, a father and his son were indicted on suspicion of violating the historical heritage and of deliberately possessing objects of illegal origin.
They had decorated their fish shop with pots that their son had found at the bottom of the sea.
During an inspection of the store, authorities discovered that the pots were not junk, but 13 “amphoras” from the 1st century AD, writes The Guardian.
Mosaic floor found from Roman times
Protected
Amphorae were vessels used by the Romans to transport oil and wine. Authorities also found an 18th century anchor.
The objects have now been transferred to the Museum of the Sea in the Valencian city of Santa Pola, near Alicante.
The museum experts have concluded that the vessels probably came from a shipwreck off the Mediterranean coast and are protected by archaeological cultural heritage laws.
