Estonia plans to return to Ukraine a collection of Scythian gold and Greek coins stolen from the occupied museums of Crimea and Kherson, Velida Kitayina, wife of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent, said.

Estonian border guards confiscated a collection of Ukrainian Scythian gold and coins from the Greek period of Crimea dating back to 500 BC from a Latvian who arrived from Russia in 2018. The jewellery was stolen from museums in the occupied Crimea and Kherson.

The man was trying to transport seven kilograms of meat across the border, which aroused suspicion among border guards. After a detailed inspection, they found 274 antique gold and silver jewelry, coins, a drinking vessel, a horse headdress, and other artifacts. “Estonia has restored the items and plans to return them to Ukraine,” Velida Kitaina said.

The coins are over two thousand years old and date back to the time of the former king of Thrace, Lysimachus. Ukrainian archaeologists also note that the finds mostly belong to antiquities in eastern and southern Ukraine, including the occupied Crimea. There is evidence that “black archaeologists” have taken similar Scythian and Sarmatian gold jewelry to the territory of the Russian Federation, writes the Estonian public broadcaster ERR.