They recover a 2,300-year-old sarcophagus lid 0:52
(CNN) --
Police in Spain have recovered hundreds of archaeological artifacts, including marine fossils, Bronze Age ceramics and 18th-century weapons, from two houses in the southeastern province of Alicante.
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More than 200 fragments of human bones were also seized from the homes, some between 4,000 and 5,000 years old, the Spanish Civil Guard reported in a statement on Friday.
Artifacts including marine fossils, Bronze Age pottery, and 18th-century weapons were found.
Credit: Civil Guard
The discovery follows a weeks-long investigation, known as Operation Osarium, which led police into what they called "one of the largest illegal private collections" in Alicante.
Two men are currently being investigated for misappropriation of goods with artistic, historical, cultural or scientific value, the statement added.
Roman mosaics, Paleolithic flint tools and historical weapons, including cannonballs and an iron grenade, were among the 350 archaeological artifacts recovered.
The findings were made in two houses in the province of Alicante.
Credit: Civil Guard
After the initial discovery was made at a house in the town of Gata de Gorgos, the owner cooperated with police, leading them to a larger collection at a property in the nearby town of Dénia.
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The occupant of the second house claimed that the archaeological items discovered there had been inherited from a deceased relative, although police found no documentation "to justify his possession" of the artifacts, the statement added.
However, investigators found notebooks containing handwritten notes from the late relative indicating where the items came from.
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The Spanish Civil Guard said it seeks to collaborate with culture department officials to investigate and catalog the items.
More than 200 human bone fragments were also recovered.
Credit: Civil Guard
"The study of specialists could help to date the origin and context of the pieces, thus increasing their value, and even facilitating the location of new archaeological sites," the police statement added.
The finding comes a year after 36 stolen antiquities were returned to Egypt, also recovered by the Spanish Civil Guard.
The objects, which included figurines of goddesses and ancient jars, were seized in the Spanish port of Valencia after being smuggled out of archaeological sites in 2014, according to Reuters.
