(source: Facebook of Slovak Embassy in Norway)
Norwegian Culture Minister Abid Raja returned 44 Roman coins (antoninianus) from the 3rd century to Slovak Ambassador to Norway Denisa Koterec Frelichová. These coins had been illegally exported from Slovakia to Norway.
They were probably found in Slovakia during illegal pseudo-archaeological activities and then illegally transferred to Norway.
The return of illegally exported cultural objects abroad is carried out in accordance with the obligations of international law and on the basis of the UNESCO Convention and the Norwegian Act on the Protection of Cultural Heritage.
“The illegal trade in cultural heritage items is a large-scale global problem,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok, as quoted by the SITA newswire. “I'm very happy to have these items returned to where they belong, in Slovakia.”
