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Authorities on Wednesday unveiled what they said was a record haul of rare antiquities illegally looted from Italy and discovered during raids on Swiss warehouses belonging to an accused Sicilian art dealer.

Police estimated the value of the 5,361 vases, kraters, bronze statues and frescoes at about 50 million euros (almost $72 million).

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The works, from the 8th century B.C. to the 3rd century, were laid out Wednesday at the Terme di Diocleziano National Roman Museum and may go on public display before being returned to museums in southern Italy, from where they originated.

“This is by a long shot the biggest recovery in history in terms of the quantity and quality of the archaeological treasures,” Carabineri Gen. Mariano Mossa told a news conference.

The items were found during an investigation into Basel-based art dealer Gianfranco Becchina and his wife, accused by prosecutors of being part of an antiquities trafficking network that involved “tombaroli” tomb raiders in southern Italy, dealers and buyers around the globe.