Man arrested for trying to sell artefacts — PSD

AMMAN — Irbid Preventive Security Department personnel have arrested a man suspected of stealing artefacts and trying to sell them, the Public Security Department (PSD) said on Tuesday. 

Officers responded to a tip-off about a man who showcased artefacts for sale, claiming he could locate and dig up ancient items, the PSD said in a statement.

Officers followed the suspect and arrested him in possession of digging tools, before obtaining a warrant to search his house, where they found several artefacts, the PSD added. 

Experts from the Department of Antiquities said the artefacts, which included ceramic plates and urns and a piece of metal with Latin inscriptions, had historic value. 

An investigation is ongoing and the recovered artefacts will be sent to the concerned authorities, the PSD said.

Archaeologist Morag Kersel told The Jordan Times in a recent interview that the illicit trade in artefacts is threatening the preservation of the Middle East’s cultural heritage.  

Kersel has worked as a contractor with the cultural heritage office at the US Department of State, where her team monitored the import and export of antiquities through a series of bilateral agreements with various countries.

There are no typical routes of stolen Jordanian treasures, the scholar said, which makes preventing artefact smuggling more difficult.