Italian police have revealed a trove of looted Etruscan treasures seized after thieves – known as ‘tomb raiders’ – posted pictures of the items online. The objects were taken from an Etruscan burial site in Città della Pieve, about 90 miles north of Rome.

“Experts believe this is one of the most important seizures of Etruscan artefacts ever made by investigators,” Perugia prosecutor Raffaele Cantone told The Times.

The looted items include eight urns and two sarcophagi from a hypogeum, or underground tomb, belonging to an influential Etruscan family that lived between 300 B.C. and 100 BC, plus many funerary objects. Many of the items depict “Etruscan princesses,” one said statement from the Italian Ministry of Culture.

“The burial chamber is particularly rich and consists of both earthenware and metal furniture and pottery, including four bronze mirrors, one of which (carries) the ancient she-wolf nursing Romulus, a balsamarium (bottle) still containing traces of perfume used in antiquity, a bone comb and oinochoe (wine jugs) commonly used by Etruscan women during banquets and symposia,” the ministry said.

“Two persons were identified as responsible, against whom (charges are brought) for the crimes of theft and receipt of cultural objects: eight Etruscan stone urns, two sarcophagi and related funerary objects from the Hellenistic period, from the third century BC. seized,” the ministry said.

The police investigation by the Carabinieri heritage protection unit, a branch of Italy’s national police, was launched earlier this year after officers saw images of the looted works for sale online.

Officials then noticed the Etruscan surname “Pulfna” on the urns, linking the discovery to a collection of urns unearthed by a farmer farming his land near Città della Pieve in 2015.

The investigation “then focused on a local contractor, owner of an earthmoving company who owned, among other things, land adjacent to the one where the hypogeum was discovered in 2015 (by the farmer),” the ministry said.

“After receiving confirmation of an impending sale of the goods on the secret antiques market, the examining magistrate was asked for permission to conduct wiretapping. This activity was also supported by observation and shadow services, using a drone,” the ministry added.