The Uzhhorod District Prosecutor's Office has approved and sent to court an indictment against a 42-year-old resident of Uzhhorod, who conducted illegal archaeological excavations and then attempted to sell a unique archaeological find dated approximately to the 12th–9th centuries BC.

According to the investigation materials, the man intentionally conducted illegal excavations at a site of archaeological significance listed in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine.

In February 2025, the accused managed to find 11 fragments of a pot, inside which were four bronze Celtic axes. Realizing the importance of the find, the man did not report it, but appropriated it and attempted to sell it on one of the online auction sites.  

The illegal sale was halted thanks to coordinated actions by law enforcement officers and representatives of the National Museum of History of Ukraine, who discovered the lot during monitoring.

As confirmed by experts, the finds are a treasure of the archaeological culture of Gava-Goligrady, which existed during the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. It was widespread from the Upper Dniester and the Prut region to the northeastern part of the Carpathian basin in the Upper Tisza basin and is dated to the 12th–9th centuries BC. The fact that the treasure was found in a ceramic vessel adds even more uniqueness to it. All archaeological finds have been seized and transferred for safekeeping to the National Museum of History of Ukraine. 

The accused is charged with the illegal conduct of archaeological reconnaissance, excavations at a site of archaeological heritage, and the illegal appropriation of the found treasure, which has special cultural value (part 1 of Article 298 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, part 1 of Article 193 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pre-trial investigation was carried out by the Uzhhorod District Police Department in conjunction with the Cybercrime Prevention Department in the Transcarpathian region under the procedural guidance of the Uzhhorod District Prosecutor's Office 

Note: according to part 1 of Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.