Italian police seize Estruscan treasures stolen from ancient grave by amateur ‘tomb raiders’

Archaeological finds from the Etruscan era, recovered in a police operation, were shown during a press conference in Rome - (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Italian police have recovered a trove of “exceptionally valuable” Etruscan funereal artefacts stolen in an illegal excavation of a 2,300-year-old aristocratic tomb in Perugia.

The vast array of treasures, believed to have belonged to Etruscan princesses, is reported to have been described by experts as one of the most important recoveries of artefacts ever made in relation to the ancient Italian civilisation.