Diver arrested with artefacts recovered from wreck

A 42-year-old man has been arrested in Cambodia, where investigators found nearly 300 antique clay pots believed to have been recovered from a shipwreck in the Gulf of Thailand region.

The arrest took place on the south coast of the country. During a search at the man’s home, nearly 300 clay jugs were found which were said to be up to 600 years old. According to the detainee, he had retrieved them while diving from a shipwreck.

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A 42-year-old man was arrested after authorities found that he was illegally keeping 281 small and large dishes considered legally protected antiques in his home, Preah Sihanouk provincial spokesman Khieng Phearum said

According to the findings, the detained man is professionally involved in diving. He was spotted while diving on one of the wrecks located at the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand, near the town of Sihanoukville. It is likely that the antiques found in his flat came from this wreck.

The spokesman also said it was not known how the arrested man had extracted the vessels or how long he had been in possession of them. The police, upon learning of his collection, began surveillance, which eventually resulted in an arrest.

It is unclear at this point whether the detained diver intended to sell the antiques, but it is likely that he will be prosecuted under the law protecting Cambodia’s cultural and historical heritage.

Long Punna Serivath, spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture said that judging from the photographs of the vessels, they were probably made between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Both the origin of the jars and the ship from which they are believed to have been extracted have not yet been established. Experts will now examine the entire collection in order to obtain concrete answers.