Archeological sites are endangered by treasure hunters

Archeological sites are endangered by treasure hunters who use metal detectors, even though this is forbidden by law. National Archeological Agency (ANA) head Vlad Vornic told Info-Prim Neo that the disastrous situation is a result of the lenient legislation, but things could be changed through harsher penalties. Vlad Vornic says that treasure hunters only care about gold or precious metals, not about cultural goods or values. However, the context of the discovery of historical objects is scientifically very important. It’s like a page in book from which several lines are deleted and the text cannot be restored. The law allows the use of metal detectors in archeological zones only for scientific research purposes and only with the authorization of the Ministry of Culture, but this doesn’t stop treasure hunters. Inspections found many vandalized ancient settlements and graveyards. “We await the adoption of the amendment to the Penal and the Contravention Codes, so that we had European-standard penalties. The law provides fines of 500 to 3000 conventional units, but these fines don’t scare the treasure hunters. The situation is bad. We have a law banning the use of detectors, but it doesn’t stipulate any penalty. The detectors can be confiscated, but there is no other penalty”, said Vornic. Asked whether Moldova had a black market for the sale of archeological items, Vlad Vornic said that according to the information he had, most of such objects are sold abroad. A few years ago, an official with diplomatic passport was caught at the border with a collection of unique items discovered in Moldova. Vlad Vornic stressed the need for stricter regulations on the sale and use of metal detectors in order to reduce the number of illegal diggings. He also thinks there should be an intenser cooperation between the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense.