Police recover rare ancient Roman legal document before auction

Police recover rare ancient Roman legal document before auction

The item is around 2,000 years old

NATIONAL POLICE in Madrid have recovered a unique legal document made in bronze which is more than 2,000 years old.

The bronze epigraphic plate of Roman origin was found when it was going to be auctioned.

The piece, located thanks to the tracking work of the officers on the Internet, is an important Roman legal document, an imperial decree from the Emperor Tiberius, which regulated the privileges and financing of soldiers and veterans, promulgated immediately after the death of Caesar Augustus.

The investigation began when it was spotted online through an auction house. Police found out that it had been bought by the current owners in an antique shop in Sevilla. The owner of the establishment lacked documentation to support its legal provenance.

In addition, they found that the bronze piece had not been included in the inventory of archaeological assets established by the Historical Heritage Law.

A judge agreed for the bronze plaque to be seized as a precaution and requested the collaboration of the General Sub-directorate for the Protection of Historical Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, so that the plaque can be studied and a suitable final destination for it be found.

The presence in the Iberian Peninsula of such documents, of enormous legal, historical and archaeological significance, is scarce.


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Jennifer Leighfield

Jennifer Leighfield, born in Salisbury, UK; resident in Malaga, Spain since 1989. Degree in Translation and Interpreting in Spanish, French and English from Malaga University (2005), specialising in Crime, Forensic Medicine and Genetics. Published translations include three books by Richard Handscombe. Worked with Euro Weekly News since November 2006. Well-travelled throughout Spain and the rest of the world, fan of Harry Potter and most things ‘geek’.

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