THE BONE COLLECTORS: Police Seize Gruesome Private Museum Of Ancient Human Remains

A private collection of nearly 200 ancient human bones and more than 350 archaeological treasures have been seized by police from homes in Spain.

Civil Guard officers recovered an astonishing collection of items dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze ages in a search of two houses.

Phoenician and Punic amphorae, Bronze and Neolithic Age mills, a 12th-century sword and a gruesome collection of human skulls were found in the searches in Gata de Gorgos near the city of Denia, in Spain.

Police chiefs claim the raids - codenamed Operation Osarium - began when local police reported the discovery of a human bone at one of the homes.

As detectives and antiquities experts investigated, they discovered human bones and treasures dating back 5,000 years.

One suspect told police he had inherited the haul from a relative and produced the original collector's diaries and maps to show where the items had been found.

But because there are no documents detailing the ownership of the treasures, officials say police have to investigate

The Civil Guard named the items that stood out the most in a statement obtained by Newsflash: "Five amphorae of Betic, Phoenician and Punic origin, five Bronze Age and Neolithic Mills, five Ancient Roman loom weights, a human skull, an iron grenade and various 18th century cannonballs."

Authorities later initiated an investigation against the two illegal collections' owners, who are reportedly facing misappropriation charges if found guilty.

The Civil Guard said: "Both investigations were reported to the Court of First Instance and Investigation in Denia."