In total, the missing items are estimated to be worth between $7,000 and $10,000, officials said.
Custodians reported a theft from a classroom display case early Friday morning, June 28. The theft is believed to have occurred between late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
The display housed artifacts donated in 1959 by Miami University graduate and Oxford native John Coulter.
Objects taken from the case were used by the archaeological department to provide practical learning to undergraduate students.
“Students could come in and put their hands on a Neolithic dagger, something undergrads wouldn’t necessarily get the chance to do otherwise,” Card said. “I know it’s a cliché, but the pieces were each unique in their own way.”
The value of the pieces — some 4,000 years old — is more than monetary, according to the university.
“Some of the faculty looked the objects up on eBay for general information about their worth, but it is not a true estimate of their loss,” said Claire Wagner, Miami University spokeswoman. “The objects were irreplaceable. The faculty are worried without those items what they will do for some of their hands-on learning experiences.”
Miami University Police are continuing to investigate.
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