Illicit Antiquities Arrest Yields Precious Find

A 30-year old man has been arrested in Istiaia, Evia, after police found a host of illicitly acquired antiquities in his possession. Authorities were responding to information concerning unlicensed digging.
The man was found in possession of a marble grave marker (70cm x 55cm) showing two women, one seated on a throne and one standing facing her, dating to the early Hellenistic period, around the 3rd century BC. The stele bearing the inscription "NIKARETE STRATOKLEOUS" is of especial archaeological value.
The 30-year old also had twenty silver coins, 12 of which from the period of the 1st to the 4th century BC, four from the Roman period (1st - 5th centuries AD) and four of indeterminate dating.
The suspect has been remanded into the custody of the Halkida misdemeanor prosecution.