Looted antiquities,and museum plan

By SUZANNE DALEY The New York Times ARANDA DE MONCAYO, Spain -- The village of Aranda de Moncayo has been caught up in a bit of international in- trigue after the arrest ora man who largely kept to himself but was sometimes seen out wandering at night with a metal detector.儲存倉 Investigators who searched his homes found more than 4,000 looted antiquities, most of them, they say, dug up from the hill next door. The police say his arrest is just the first salvo in an investigation that began when two bronze helmets appeared for sale at a German auction house. Two thousand years ago, it seems, a bus- tling Celtic metropolis, called Aratikos, sat atop that hill, only to be destroyed by invading Romans. The case has led Rosario Cabrera, the mayor of Aranda de Moncayo, to envi- sion a new future for the 200 residents of the sleepyvillage. First, she wants a proper archaeological excavation. And then, per- haps, a small museum. "It could bring a lot of tourists here," said Ms. Cabrera, who is fast becoming an ex- pert on the Iberian Celts who settled in these parts and became targets of Roman aggression because the area was rich with copper, silver and iron. Historians believe that the ancient city, about two hours north of Madrid, was burned to the ground. Rachel Chaundler contributed reporting. Most villagers knew the area had a rich history, having found coins and bits of pot- tery over the years, but the exact site of the ancient city was always in question. Experts say that at least 18 helmets have been illegally plundered from Aranda de Moncayo, far more than ever found be- fore. The authorities saythey arrested Ricard迷你倉沙田 Granada, 60, in the case in March, and that he may have collected antiquities in the area for some 20 years. Once, Ms. Cabrera said, Mr. Granada bought a plot of land at the foot of the hill. But he did not appear to know much about archaeological methods. He dug up the land using a backhoe and heaved loads of dirt onto the back ora truck, she said. Experts at the Roman-Germanic Cen- tral Museum in Mainz spotted the helmets at an auction in 2008 and called the police to ask that they be held so Spain could claim them, said Michael Miiller-Karpe, a researcher at the museum. The authori- ties did not act, and the helmets were given backto the auction house. Experts at the Roman-Germanic Cen- tral Museum in Mainz who spotted the helmets at an auction in 2008 and called the police to ask that they be held so Spain could claim them, said Michael Mfiller- Karpe, a researcher at the museum. But the Spanish authorities did not act, and the helmets were eventually given back to the auction house for sale. The handling of antiquities, experts say, is a bureaucratic tangle in Spain, with both the national government and regional gov- ernments having jurisdiction. The Culture Ministryreferred questions to the regional government, which said it was reviewing the matter. Now the mayor's idea ora museum ap- peals to some villagers. 'Ct lot of people are old here, and they just want peace and quiet;' said Pilar Gonzalez, who runs a small restaurant and hotel on the village square with her husband. "But really a museum, anything, to bring people here would be so beneficial for us" A Spanish village's neighbor may be an ancient Celtic city.迷你倉價錢