An unknown perpetrator stole nearly two-dozen ancient artifacts last week from a Miami University-Ohio (MU) and the school is not optimistic they will be returned, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The theft occurred last week and the items stolen from the school anthropology department were estimated at a $10,000 value. Anthropology professor Jeb Card said the artifacts were worth more than their dollar value.
"These are the kind of things I would study in books, but here we could hold them, something that was 4,000 years old," Card said. "We could put our hands on the past."
According to ABC Oxford, the items included a Neolithic flint dagger from Denmark dating back as far as 2,400 B.C., an Egyptian flint knife believed to originate from 4,000 B.C., and several Aztec artifacts and are believed to have been taken the night of June 27. Card said a local philanthropist and former Palmolive executive named John A. Coulter collected the items and donated them to the school in the 1950's.
"It was a very cool experience and somebody took that away," he said. "Students used them to learn the methods and techniques of archeology."
MU police are investigating the theft and monitoring various eBay auctions of similar items, which are not replaceable.
"We really can't replace these, so we hope that they can be recovered," said MU spokesman Clare Wagner.
According to Card, around 30 undergraduate students studied the artifacts last fall, but they were under constant faculty supervision.
Card said the artifacts were on display for students to observe and write their final papers on, as well as rewarding the students.
"We kind of reward them by putting this stuff on display," Card said. "It's sort of cliché to say that these are irreplaceable, but that is sort of true."
Wagner said anyone with information should contact the Miami University police at (513) 529-2222.
