( Same happen to treasure stolen from Baghdad Museum after US invasion ) Robbers make off with priceless Treasure of Benghazi after drilling into underground vault at Libyan bank A gang of Libyan looters have raided a priceless collection of gold and silver coins that are believed to date back to the time of Alexander the Great. The thieves carried off with the pieces, known as The Treasure of Benghazi, having drilled through a concrete ceiling at the National Commercial Bank of Benghazi. An expert has described the raid as 'one of the greatest thefts in archeological history.' Whilst the break-in was initially believed to have been part of the uprising against Muammar Gadaffi, Hafed Walada, a Libyan archeologist working at King's College London told The Sunday Times; 'It may have been an inside job. 'It appears to have been carried out by people who knew what they were looking for.' Alongside the coins, several artefacts, including monuments and figurines of bronze, glass and ivory, as well as jewellery, bracelets and medallions, are also believed to have been seized by the thieves. Early leads had initially pointed to neighbouring Egypt, where a farmer had attempted to smuggle 503 gold coins and a golden statue through the port city of Alexandria, however attempts to locate him have thus far failed. Most of the Benghazi treasures had been on Libyan soil following a mass recovery of the collection between 1917 and 1922 from the temple of Artemis, in Cyrene - an ancient Roman city, now Libyan territory and otherwise known as Shahat. During the Second World War, much of the treasure was on display at the Museum of Italian Africa in Rome, but eventually returned to Libyan soil in 1961 and was kept at the bank. Italian archeologist, Serenella Ensoli, from the Second University of Naples insisted the treasure was priceless given its historical value. 'The collection is not well studied and is a huge loss for Libyan heritage.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...easure-Benghazi-bank-vault.html#ixzz1cHVH7iPx ======
Frankly , I'm not a bit surprised that criminal elements , who'd never have dared such a heist during Gaddafi's reign , would take full advantage of the present chaotic/lawless situation. If you recall , there was similar lootings of Iraq's treasures - many items have not yet been recovered. ...
Sounds neat. Living over seas is an adventure. I hope you were old enough to get around and see all that there was to see and experience. By the time my two little ones graduated from high school they had gone to school in five different countries.
I was in college in the US.. I wasn't there with my family the whole three years they were there. I wouldn't trade it for anything..
Whenever there are uprisings and civil wars, there are always opportunists who will take advantage of the chaotic situations to plunder banks and museums of their riches. Germany during WWII is a prime example where as they invaded other countries they plundered and looted as they went. It doesnt help when the first thing they did when reaching Tripoli is let all the prisoners out of the jails, whether political or the downright criminal element. In the eyes of the rebels they were all the same.
A link on the looting of Iraq Museum: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-story-of-the-iraq-mus There is also an interesting story behind how the most priceless artifacts were saved from looters, by encasing them in thick tombs of concrete in the Museum's basement.
