An undated handout photo published on September 15, 2023, by the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra shows ANU Museum curator Georgia Pike-Rowney holding a red Apulian fish plate (AFP)

Italian art detectives have located stolen ancient treasures at the leading Australian National University in Canberra, including an artifact most likely smuggled out of the country under piles of pasta.

According to a statement by the Australian National University (ANU) on Friday, the university was collaborating with a "specialist art squad" of Italy's Carabinieri military police to repatriate the pieces.

Discovered within the University's classics museum, the stolen artifacts include a 2,500-year-old amphora depicting Greek champion Heracles fighting the mythical Nemean lion which has been "a key object in the ANU Classics Museum for almost 40 years."

An old Polaroid photo of the Heracles vase was located by Italian police while questioning an unnamed art thief, leading them to believe that it had been illegally taken before being sent off to Australia.

The University claimed to have purchased the vase in "good faith" at a Sotheby's auction back in 1984 and expressed being "proud" to work with Italian investigators for repatriation.

Museum curator Georgia Pike-Rowney said the vase dates back to 530 BC and is a "stunning example" of ancient Mediterranean craftsmanship, saying, "A vessel with two handles, the amphora would have been used for storing olive oil or wine."

Literal 'tomb raiders'

The Carabinieri also located a stolen red fish plate from the Italian Apulia region, which was traced to American art trafficker and food importer David Holland Swingler, famous for his culinary method of operation.

"During trips to Italy, Swingler sourced material directly from tombaroli -- literally 'tomb robbers' who undertake illegal excavations," Pike-Rowney said, adding that Swingler "smuggled the items to the US hidden among bundles of pasta and other Italian foods."

Told to conduct its own audit as well, the Australian National University discovered a Roman marble head belonging to a separate collection owned by the Vatican.

The curator noted that the Carabinieri received permission to act on the Vatican's behalf to conduct repatriation efforts.

"Conversations about the repatriation of ancient artifacts have become prominent in recent years, as institutions across the world grapple with the legacies of historical collection practices," she continued, suggesting that "as Australia's national university, ANU must be at the forefront of best practice in the management of restitution and repatriation cases."

In light of those updates, Italy's government agreed to loan the vase and the fish plate to the ANU until their repatriation at a "future date".

This arrives mere days after a known art detective returned a Vincent van Gogh painting to a museum in The Netherlands over three years following its theft.