Ancient Roman mosaic depicting Hercules falsely imported as ‘ceramic tiles,’ feds say

A California man has been found guilty of illegally importing a 2,000-year-old Roman floor mosaic of Hercules valued at $450,000, federal officials say.

The 56-year-old Palmdale man mislabeled the mosaic as “ceramic tiles” worth less than $600, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a news release.

The mosaic, purchased for $12,000 and restored for $40,000, was hidden behind a pile of vases in a metal shipping container imported from Turkey in August 2015, according to the release.

It depicts the Greek god Hercules freeing Prometheus, who had been chained to a rock for stealing fire to give to humans, federal officials said.

The 15-foot-long, 8-foot-high mosaic, which weighs 2,000 pounds, was removed from the man’s garage by federal agents and stored in a secure facility.

The man was found guilty of entry of falsely classified goods on Wednesday, June 21, the release said. He faces up to two years in prison.

This story was originally published June 22, 2023 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Ancient Roman mosaic depicting Hercules falsely imported as ‘ceramic tiles,’ feds say."