Three treasure hunters where caught with archaeological items in the western Bulgarian town of Bobovdol Wednesday.

The men aged 41, 42, and 52, have criminal records; they were captured with 30 Roman bronze coins - one dated to 1st century BC, and the others - to 3rd-5th centuries AD, two Roman rings, a spear head, and lead melts.

When they were arrested, the three admitted the treasures had been found near the village of Chukovets. Experts from the Regional History Museum in the city of Kyustendil, together with the police inspected the spot and found a religious plaque with inscriptions in Greek dedicated to the Thracian god Heros, known as the Thracian Horseman.