Greek police find hundreds of stolen relics

ATHENS, July 3 (Reuters) Greek police have found more than a thousand pieces of artefacts dating back to ancient Greece after raiding a suspect's house near the southern city of Corinth, police said today.

A 58 year-old man, who was also found with a dozen ancient and Byzantine period coins on his person, was arrested and will be charged with antiquities theft.

''The suspect is probably part of a wider group active in the Corinth area, as the artefacts seem to come from illegal digs in the region,'' police said.

''The confiscated artefacts are not very valuable as they are mostly small items, but all such activity is illegal.'' Police confiscated more than 1,300 items including small ancient clay idols, urns, pottery shards and bronze rings, dating from between the 6th and 4th century B C, police said.

A further raid on the suspect's house subsequently found excavation equipment and books detailing Mycenean and Classical antiques, police said.

There are thousands of archaeological sites scattered around Greece, and the government has pledged to crack down on the illegal excavation and smuggling of its national heritage.

REUTERS GL RN1320