Olbia, Days of archeology: in the Superintendence exhibition of finds stolen from Gallura

Two Narbonne amphorae from the 1st century AD, a net weight, a small table amphora, a barrel amphora, rare and found only in Sardinia and Sicily, a Nuragic patera from the 9th century BC, blades, machining splinters , arrowheads from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, an Arab jug from the 9th century after Christ, the piece of an arch from the church of Sant'Eliseo, dated 1719, and a sea monster head composed of granite material. These are some of the finds stolen and then returned or discovered fortuitously, exhibited in the Olbia headquarters of the Archaeological, Fine Arts and Landscape Superintendency for the provinces of Sassari and Nuoro, open to the public on the occasion of the European Archeology Days 2023.

The extraordinary exhibition of some finds seized or delivered from the territory of Gallura and from the eastern coasts of Sardinia has the aim of illustrating the "Role of protection of the Superintendency between seizures and fortuitous discoveries" which the official archaeologist of the Superintendence, Francesco Carrera, explains thus: «This day open to the public was decided to dedicate it to two of the most thorny issues concerning our archaeological heritage: theft and fortuitous discoveries».

A journey among stolen objects to be collected and found by chance and returned to the community, to explain the impact of the actions of the 'grave robbers' on history and memory. "The seizure of the public good by the grave robbers to the detriment of the State and the citizens rips pages of history because the object is extrapolated from the reference context and is anachronic", specifies Carrera. If stolen, the finds tell only what is see but it is difficult to date them, understand where they come from and it is almost impossible to reconstruct their history. "When instead the objects are found by chance and the Superintendence notified immediately, the finds tell the story: this is the case of the Arab jug which, found in Cala Moresca , speaks of the use of the cala golfarancina during the barbarian constructions or of the piece of arch of the church of Sant'Eliseo which tells of a restoration of the same in the eighteenth century and of its functionality up to that period or of the head of a sea monster, delivered by a citizen of Olbia who found it on Isola Bocca, where the head of Hercules was also found, now exhibited at the Archaeological Museum which, shortly, will also host these last two finds», concludes Carrera.