Archaeologist outraged

“Ancient coins are often offered for sale on the internet”

Barbara Porod at the now filled-in excavation site where the looters struck(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Outrage at the Roman-era site of Flavia Solva in Wagna, southern Styria: brazen looters allegedly used metal detectors to dig ancient coins out of the ground. Why the archaeologists are so shocked - and why the internet is mostly full of lumps.

"The benefit of the most interesting discoveries often lies in a few coins, indeed often in a single coin", as early as 1818 in the Joanneum's annual report. "This applies in particular to Flavia Solva, as each and every one of them is an important piece of evidence that allows us to better understand the history of the first capital of Styria," says Karl Peitler, Head of the Coin Cabinet of the Joanneum Universal Museum, which is housed in Eggenberg Palace.