russia could find up to 80,000 artifacts during illegal excavations in Crimea

During illegal archaeological excavations, russian archaeologists in the temporarily occupied Crimea could obtain up to 80,000 artifacts.

This was reported by the permanent representative of the President to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Tamila Tasheva, in an interview with "Apostrophe."

"The russian federation carries out illegal archaeological excavations and appropriates our artifacts. According to various estimates, during such excavations, russian archaeologists could obtain more than 80,000 artifacts (for example, during the illegal construction of the Tavrida highway – a russian-built highway in Crimea, connecting the cities of Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Kerch)," she said.

In addition, according to Tasheva, in 2018, during the construction of the "Tavrida highway," the invaders dug up the graves of the ancient Kirk-Azizler Muslim cemetery near Bakhchysaray. Heavy equipment was used at the site of ancient burials.

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Moreover, earlier in 2017, russia destroyed an ancient Greek burial mound in Kerch (known as the "hospital mound"), with the first burials dated 4^th century BCE. russia decided that the burial mound blocked an access road to the Kerch Bridge and destroyed the unique historical heritage site.

From the point of view of international law, any archaeological work in Crimea is illegal.