Prosecutors of the Stryi District Prosecutor’s Office have sent to court an indictment against a resident of Mykolaiv, who attempted to sell archaeological finds.
Investigations have established that in July 2025, in the forested area of the village Zaklad, the man, using a metal detector, was searching for artifacts. He managed to find and excavate a shield handle and two spearheads. Subsequently, the ‘archaeologist’ put them up for sale on an online auction.
According to current legislation, archaeological items cannot be sold, collected by private individuals, or exported abroad. According to the National Museum of History of Ukraine, these items are warrior burial-cremation of the Przeworsk archaeological culture of the late 2nd – early 3rd centuries and possess special cultural value.
The man is charged with the illegal appropriation of found property by a person, which has special cultural value (Article 193 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Currently, all unique archaeological finds have been confiscated and transferred to the National Museum of History of Ukraine for storage, which is one of the country’s leading museums in terms of the number and significance of collections.
Preliminary investigation – Police Department No. 2 of the Stryi District Police Division of the Main Department of the National Police in the Lviv region.
Note: According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a legal manner and established by a court verdict.