Roma, Caput Mundi

More yuge loot news out of Spain, only this time it’s not massive quantities but just plain massive. Italian police from the stolen artwork squad were in Barcelona on business when they happened past an antiques store. In the store, they noticed a solid marble oval bathtub that looked suspiciously familiar. It was billed as … Read the full post →“How in the hell did they steal this?”

Rome has only 2 subway lines, and they’re old and crappy and don’t hit many of the most famous locations in the center of town because it’s basically impossible to dig in the historic center without encountering structures of immense archaeological value. The laws on the subject are strict: the city’s archaeological superintendency decides the … Read the full post →“Uh oh… New subway line in Rome”

A bust of Marcus Aurelius that was stolen from an Algerian museum 12 years ago was pried out of Christie’s dirty little hands right before it was about to go on the block. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials returned it to the Algerian embassy this past Tuesday. Dating from the second century, the three-foot-high, 200-pound … Read the full post →“Today in antiquities fencing news”