On Friday, Saxony-Anhalt State premier Reiner Haseloff handed the priceless Mayan cultural artifacts over to Guatemalan Ambassador Jorge Lemcke and Mexican Ambassador Francisco Quiroga at a ceremony in Berlin. The ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas. Police suspect these items were looted by tomb raiders. Claiming not to know of their origins, he said that they had been purchased for less than €100 ($116) at a flea market in Leipzig in 2003.Īn expert later confirmed the objects' authenticity and declared that 11 of the pieces were produced in what is today Guatemala and two others were from Teotihuacan, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of modern-day Mexico City. His cellar also housed a collection of 13 objects - including figures, plates and cups dating back to 250-850 AD. In late 2020, a man in the city of Klötze in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt contacted the police to hand over WWII-era weapons that had belonged to his father. The discovery and return of Mayan artifacts have been making headlines lately - with some private collectors both in Germany and elsewhere voluntarily surrendering the objects.

Kingdom heirs a new look