Hungary buys back Roman-era treasure

Hungary's prime minister says his country has paid 15 million euros ($20.7 million) to recover "the family silver," seven large silver trays, bowls and jugs dating to the 4th century.

All 14 pieces of the Sevso Treasure [Credit: Birkbeck College/University of London]

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday that the artifacts were brought back to Hungary from London a few days ago after long negotiations with unidentified sellers.

The artifacts are part of the "Sevso treasure," a collection of 15 silver objects named after their owner, a high-ranking Roman official who lived in what is now western Hungary, then part of the Roman Empire. The treasure is believed to have been found in the mid-1970s near Hungary's Lake Balaton by an amateur archaeologist who died in mysterious circumstances in 1980.

Hungary had been trying for decades to regain the treasure.

Source: The Associated Press [March 26, 2014]