Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
An elderly fossil hunter who amazingly collected more than 8,000 valuable prehistoric remains dating back millions of years is facing jail.
The subject of ownership of fossils has come to the fore of late after David Attenborough publicly gave Prince George a 23-million-year-old fossilised tooth from a giant shark (Carcharocles megalodon), initially sparking demands from Malta where it was found on the beach for it to be returned.
However, the Maltese appear to have gone back on the demand now and said that the young Prince can keep the tooth, but the man in Spain whose collection included fossils that were up to 45 million years old is unlikely to be so lucky.
The Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) said in a press statement obtained by Newsflash that 8,244 paleontological artefacts had been found at the man’s house after being removed from various archaeological sites in the provinces of Barcelona, Lleida, and Huesca in the Spanish region of Catalonia.
The artefacts are aged between 35 and 45 million years old.
The investigation started after it was reported that the Sant Roma de Bellprat site, discovered in 2016, was being looted by visitors and collectors.
On 9th March 2019, the police reportedly found a man with 18 fossil fragments on his person at the site.
The unnamed 70-year-old suspect, known locally as ‘el senyor dels crancs’ (‘the lord of the crabs’ in Catalan), is suspected of plundering several sites since at least 1996.
Local media dubbed the suspect ‘the lord of the crabs’ because most of the stolen fossils were of four different species of prehistoric crab.
In early May 2019, the police raided the suspect’s home in the town of Igualada and found fossils, maps, documents, and photos of several previously plundered sites in the provinces of Barcelona, Lleida, and Huesca.
According to the Catalan culture department, the value of the stolen artefacts amounts to EUR 140,000 (GBP 127,880) and the number of pieces seized by police was 8,244.
The fossil remains are currently being kept by the culture department as all archaeological and paleontological remains are considered public heritage.
Meanwhile, the elderly man has been banned from visiting the sites in Sant Roma de Bellprat, La Pobla de Claramunt, Coll de Nargo, Villaseca de Seros, and La Pobla de Segur where he stole the artefacts.
He could also face three years in prison if convicted.
The detained OAP is still waiting to be formally charged as the investigation continues, according to the local police.
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